Seeing our slump made me think. I feel as though, somewhere along the way, some Arsenal players lost the incentive to play hard and win. I mean the amount of players who turned out below average is just shocking! I mean players like Arshavin, Chamakh, Denilson, Bendtner, Squillaci, Santos, Senderos, Almunia etc. all went down the hillock with their football. Chamakh and Arshavin were great in their first years but what could have Wenger done to prevent such a downturn? Is it because of wages? Whether or not they play they don't care because they get the wage anyway. Could that be a reason? 

I remember a number of Arsenal fans wanted Rosicky out but now look at his improvement. I wish our players could follow Rosicky's path to revival (Especially Ramsey and Diaby). 

So this is a rant thread for any gooners out there (or anyone really). Let's hear the stories.

I love Arsene Wenger and for those who don't know enough about the truth of the man, he REALLY is a footballing encyclopedia. Having prefaced with that, the man is not without his faults. He must take the blame for some absolutely terrible acquisitions over the last few years including :  Bendtner, Squillaci, Santos, Senderos, Almunia. Now part of it is because he's had to make do with bargains (which is an inherently risky business). To be fair, many managers (including Fergie, etc.) have made their fair share of terrible signings and at least Wenger has made more brilliant pick-ups than mistakes. 

As for Arshavin, I think he's one of the most technically gifted players in the world. A combination of 2 things destroyed him. #1 = Wenger's insistence on playing him out of position (wouldn't play him as a #10 because of Cesc). #2 = he started to let himself go and it is well documented that his fitness levels prevented him from being a starter

Chamakh is the one I feel the worst for. He was very good in France and when he first came to Arsenal was an excellent goal scorer. However, being dropped for RVP was a fatal blow to his confidence and he has never looked the same player since. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he went somewhere else where he would get a run of games, and started to play well again. 

I think that Arsenal lost their way. They were known for their passing and incredible attack but now the passing is average at best and they always fall apart in the final third. I think cutting out the deadwood such as Squillaci and Djour could make room to bring in defenders with more class and hunger. They need to move on from the policy of sell stars to make room for unknown youngsters. No team can succeed when you keep losing your influential players. 

i think when you release your key players,fabregas,song,glichy,van persie,nasri,you need to find a replacement which is as good as the players before or better.I think someone needs to give the benched players confidence like talk to them that their still part of their plans,they need the passion to win.I hate it when benched/reserve players get their wages just like that for not doing much,i think wages are there to not let the player leave and make the player happy,dont worry though Arsenal will always be on top of spurs.

As a Spurs fan, doubtless this will be met with angrier backlash than most, but I think Arsenal's true dilemma is not that Wenger (or his team) have met with some unstoppable decline, but that they've suffered more from increased competition.

Think about Arsenal's hey-day under Wenger. It was Man U vs Arsenal, every year. Every year you knew that United would spend more for squad depth than the Gunners, and the Gunners would play better football, and the league was going to be won by one of them. Wenger was lucky enough to bring to Highbury (and discover the potential of) a sensational French generation of players, as well as pick up key players like Bergkamp and Ljundberg, not to mention having the English backbone of Wright, Adams, Keown, Seaman and (grrr) Campbell.

In short, Wenger got kinda lucky, for all his shrewdness, and the combination of his flair players with the iron left over from the Graham years was a masterful one. What ALSO helped, however, is that he had ONLY Man U to really compete with. Any exciting new players that came into the Premiership from outside were either going to be bought by Man U, or by Wenger. Arguably Man U bought the 'bigger names' at the time, but Wenger wasn't shy when he saw a player he wanted, either. He carried on adding to his now incredible squad to culminate in the Invincibles, which truly was a fantastic team, and one of the best in English league history.

But, could even the Invincibles have been invincible had Cheslea and Man City also been in the mix, at the time? If Tottenham, Newcastle and Liverpool were as ambitious as they currently are? It's possible, but I think that anyone other than the most rose-tinted fan would admit it's far less likely.

Wenger hasn't 'lost it', and his team are not scrubs. They're just not the league-beaters they used to be, because now Wenger has to compete more for the influx of talent into the league. So does SAF, but SAF has more money available to him to keep up, and was equally blessed with a youth team bounty. But gone are the days when it was JUST Wenger and SAF, and Wenger just cannot (could not, probably) have kept up. He doesn't have the resources, and his insistence on trying to build a squad of starlets has not paid off, because it doesn;t have an aging, hardcore generation to learn from.

He doesn't have a backbone for them to inherit, like he himself did from Graham.

It's much less a case of him 'losing it', as it is that the game has moved on, and he's not been able to improve 'it'. The Premier League is becoming what Serie A became in the 90s -- a place where rich clubs buy the best young talent from around the world, for huge amounts of money, and Wenger simply doesn't have the firepower to keep pace. His homegrown philosophy is, unfortunately, obsolete, and I don't believe he has anything more in the tank.

I think he should retire with dignity, before it's too late, and before the fans truly turn on him. He doesn't deserve to be blamed for the rise of other teams, and the fans don't deserve to be kept waiting so long for a fresh start. Of course, the problem will still remain with the board and their refusal to free up spending cash, but if this is going to be a decade of decline for Arsenal, then at least let Wenger get out with his name and reputation in tact. Let him go manage France, and try to win a World Cup. You know he's always wanted to, and he bloody well deserves it.

As for Arsenal? It's time to either sit tight for a period of building from scratch, with a new manager and a new style of football (probably Italian), or to hope for riches from the sky in order to just keep pace, with what you have.

Let the 'F you Spurs fan!' barrage begin. ;) But seriously, can you really argue with it?

I think what happened is all top teams started buying mega stars while Arsenal sold theirs and bought decent ones that could possibly "improve" and turn to mega stars in the future.

@lodatz my friend I appreciate your input I really do! I respect your opinion and it seems you know your enemy really well (shrewd!). Some of the stuff you said were real eye openers too. But the part where you imply the Invincibles would not match up against the added competition of present day Chelsea and ManCity...well I have to say the invincibles would still have triumphed (not easily mind you). We may encounter them as tough title contenders but the way they're playing presently and their competition as you put it (Abramovich's fierce competition and the oil rich folk) would not match up to the invincibles. Sorry I can't comprehend your opinion on that I'm afraid.

And I doubt "luck" is a describe to put Arsene's signings. It's like saying Juande Ramos "luckily" found Modric. Managers assess every player they get and most importantly they put faith in them. Same way gooners are putting faith in Giroud atm. 

Idk whether Wenger should leave. I fear if he does who knows the situation might get worse. Look at Liverpool for example. Plus Arsenal fans don't even know half the story of what goes on in Arsenal's boardroom especially Kroenke's motives. 

Nonetheless there's no reason for me to abuse you don't worry(Idk about others though).

AFC in the house, and the first thing I'ma say is f*ck you, Lodatz. 

Nah I'm just kidding <3 :) 

Thank you for the input, as Koldi said. Koldi also said most of same stuff that was on my mind when I read your post, so there's no need for me to continue typing!

One thing though.. The Invincible's in their prime would slaughter most teams of today. I'm sure we'd humiliate Man City especially ;)

few differences between OLD ARSENAL and TODAY ARSENAL

• emirates stadium atmosphere sucks, it's just quiet price's are highest in the league
• when arsenal was leading they didn't stop, they were still playing attacking football, now we score and think it's over
• Arsenal got enough money but wasting them on high wages for players like Squillaci, Gervinho, Arshavin
• kings of comeback? I remember when Arsenal were able to turn almost every loosing
• Goals? Arsenal was always scoring a lot of goals, now we're lucky if we score 1 goal
• Defence, something there is not right, we just simply let opponents to score a goal.

wish we still had highbury emirates is a shit library