When I first joined twitter just over a year ago you could have described me as a doomer. I spent my days moaning at no one and everyone for Arsene Wenger to ‘spend some f@!?ing money’. I’d criticise team selections and substitutes despite never having been in the position to have to make one myself. I’d write off supposed players Arsene was interested in, the assumption that they weren’t any good because he’d recently made the odd duff signing. I’d criticise the tactics we adopted like I was some kind of top-flight football manager despite not even managing a junior team. I thought I knew best and that my opinion was the only one that counted.
What a difference a year makes! After many a squabble on twitter with various people I used to automatically label AKB’s for daring to have a different opinion to mine, I came to realise that my opinion wasn’t based on any kind of fact. It was based merely on a series of assumptions. I looked around at some of the various blogs I’d read and conversations I’d had to see how I came to those conclusions and found that it was mostly based upon someone else’s opinions or others who claimed to have well placed sources who just happened to know everything about the way the club was run, rather than my own.
I decided I didn’t want to be a moody doom merchant who always looked for a negative in a room full of positives. I wanted to know actual facts and not some random bloke’s (who I’d never met) opinion. What I found was a bit of an eye-opener. Most of the things I was passing off to others as fact was merely someone else’s opinion and there was no proof to back up the majority of what I read on twitter either. I realised that by trying to convince others of what I’d mistakenly believed I was merely spreading their agenda.
It wasn’t until recently that it all clicked for me. Ivan Gazidis, in just a few short sentences shattered around 80% of the majority of people’s opinions (passed off as facts) of Arsene Wenger’s last few years. Until then I hadn’t really thought to look at the bigger picture, at what’s been achieved over the years since it was announced we were leaving Highbury for a new stadium. Granted there’s been things I might not have done if I was the boss, things I haven’t always agreed with – but really, who did I think I was? Did I really think I could have done better in the same situation and under the same conditions? No of course not.
Arsene has been under some incredibly tight financial restrictions which has meant we couldn’t strengthen the team with what was needed to keep pace with the big spenders of the EPL. With that then came players who weren’t happy at the prospect of not winning titles and instead of trying to defy the odds and pull of a miracle decided they’d rather go play somewhere else. Others went for money, and some went because of loyalties to another club, a couple were sold despite the manager wanting to keep them. What’s clear though is that Arsene had done an incredible job just keeping us in the top 4, all the while shouldering the brunt of fan frustration and expectation. Credit where credit’s due – that’s pretty amazeballs. He might not make the right decisions 100% of the time but if anyone deserves to lead us to success – or at least to try to – now we’re more financially able to compete after the last few years of struggle it’s Arsene Wenger.
Johnny Greenwood
@Johnny_G86
Positively Arsenal 
Well this idiot is saying signed not strongly linked.
I don’t think we really need him if both poles stay. Do you know if don Vito to Sunderland is finalized??
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goalkeeping position is not a priority right now..
Maybe he is coming as backup..
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Well done, Johnny and welcome to the sane (and sunny) side of the street. Also agree with Arsenal Andrew and Passenal’s comments to DC and Johnny respectively.
Fascinating game. Hansen and Shearer are fools – the signs were there from Italy – that was the dress rehearsal of this defeat and Spain weren’t already knackered or facing Neymar. Also, to me this defeat has been coming since that subtle shift in Spain’s style that we saw at the European champs. I’m not sure what I mean by that, but it’s somethign psychological. It’s not by any means the beginning of the end for Spain, in fact I think this will just be a blip. but it takes away the aura of invincibility – not just the fact that they lost but the fact that there is clearly a way to beat them. Loved that the ref and linesmen didn’t fall for all the diving either.
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Transfer window officially opened an hour ago Goonerkam.
Expect the hype levels to ratchet up exponentially..!
I just read a spud fan on BBC saying they are going to buy Paulhinio. Phffff.
julio would want to be top dog for the next year if he came to ensure he keeps his starting place with Brasil.
QPR can’t afford his wages and he lives in London, so the media……..= Arsenal.
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It is so surreal the images from inside the stadium compared to the images from outside.
I agree, JC will not want to be number 2 or 3.
I would hate to lose either pole.
Yes timers abound regarding paulinho and the spudniks.
Evening FUNGUNNER.
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Hello, goonerkam! (banned smiley face)
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Thanks for staying up Fungunner.
Tiki-Taka’s demise is premature, to say the least.
There has been a godawful coach at Madrid and no coach at all at Barcelona this season, and we saw the results of that in the champions league.
Andrew got quite the wrong end of the stick earlier on, I was commenting on Gary Neville ‘football genius tm’ from the vid saying Arsene Wnger doesn’t have to worry about debt levels at the club anymore. We all know its not that simple.
Of course Arsenal have a tradition of being spendthrift, and that’s part of our tradition and has kept us out of trouble many times. I’m all for that and I’m not demanding Wenger buys anyone, in fact I think the squadbwe have is good enough to win the EPL, maybe not quite the UCL (yet).
Arsene Wenger has been working off a fraction of our rivals transfer budgets, we all know the financial constrains, they are all realistic and are still around. So true though he has bitched about it a couple of times in the last few seasons. That’s undeniable, the interviews about it are on the net.
I think we all here want to see Arsene Wenger have whatever team and players
he wants to have, on his terms, playing his way. for as long as he wants.
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i hear we are linked to Torres? does anyone really believe JM ill sell a player to AW? or is he coming on a free transfer? forgotten sahin to Liverpool so soon
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@Goonerkam I heard that from Darke, too. Said Cesar was coming to Arsenal like it was a done deal. Those not versed in Arsenal transfer nonsense could have been forgiven for assuming it was already done. And he said it more than once. He’s usually better than that. Unless he’s knows something we don’t know, which I doubt. And Robson never said a word in response, which I found odd as he never misses an opportunity to “comment” on Arsenal.
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Yah. I don’t get moved so easily. But the bas••••d said it like it was a done deal. Twice.
Anywho, I think we can get more depth elsewhere. In not concerned regarding our keepers at all..
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@ double canister July 1, 2013 at 1:32 am
Cheers, dc and I absolutely take your points – we are still net debtors (around £95m), although of course we have paid off much of the capital and the interest payments are now low relative to our revenue, which is about to increase massively.
The bit I meant was what you said earlier about the board tying Arsene’s hands, I really can’t see why you think that. Although he has been frustrated about other clubs blowing us out of the water with money they have not generated themselves, he has never complained about the board not matching the petro-dollars available to Man City or Chelsea. He knows the funds have not been available – they have not been withheld, which is what you seemed to be saying. The strategy of the club has been short-term pain for long-term gain – they chose to pay off a lot of the debt quickly, make infrastructure improvements, create a commercial department etc etc and build up capital reserves rather than spend more money on transfers and salaries, but AW is totally on board with that strategy for long-term success.
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