Football

Football is tribal. It is what it is.

i have belief, things will turn a corner.
In which direction is the question. For someone who remembers Michael Thomas ending the 18 year wait for a league title (the game that is, not the 18 years), it's hard to grasp that it's now 17 years and counting since the last one.
 
In which direction is the question. For someone who remembers Michael Thomas ending the 18 year wait for a league title (the game that is, not the 18 years), it's hard to grasp that it's now 17 years and counting since the last one.
Anything is an improvement on how the PL has gone this year, its positive to see the Hale End boys making a significant impact on the first team. With Saliba returning along with Guendouzi, Willock and AMN all returning after decent loan spells. There are some generational talents their to build a team around.
 
Anything is an improvement on how the PL has gone this year, its positive to see the Hale End boys making a significant impact on the first team. With Saliba returning along with Guendouzi, Willock and AMN all returning after decent loan spells. There are some generational talents their to build a team around.
There have always been good technical players coming through, the problem is the lack of bite or strong leadership, but then I'd be very old-fashioned in how I'd like to see a team set up and that has been an issue for many many years. Too many champagne footballers and not enough grafters doing the donkey work to carry them.
 
There have always been good technical players coming through, the problem is the lack of bite or strong leadership, but then I'd be very old-fashioned in how I'd like to see a team set up and that has been an issue for many many years. Too many champagne footballers and not enough grafters doing the donkey work to carry them.
I like technical ballers, but agree. Arsenal lack a hard man leader. Haven’t had one since Viera, when Schar went through the back of Martinelli today, no-one confronted him, no team mates backing him up. In days gone by the likes of Vinny Jones, David Batty, Craig Burley, Roy Keane or Patrick Viera would have caught Schar by the shirt and dragged him into a mob of angry teammates ready to lynch them. Not condoning violence, but supporting players to show a bit more backbone.
 
I like technical ballers, but agree. Arsenal lack a hard man leader. Haven’t had one since Viera, when Schar went through the back of Martinelli today, no-one confronted him, no team mates backing him up. In days gone by the likes of Vinny Jones, David Batty, Craig Burley, Roy Keane or Patrick Viera would have caught Schar by the shirt and dragged him into a mob of angry teammates ready to lynch them. Not condoning violence, but supporting players to show a bit more backbone.
Don't get me wrong, I like technical players too, ask me to pick my favourite Arsenal player from the last 30 years and Dennis Bergkamp wins hands-down. You wouldn't win anything with 6 or 7 Bergkamps in a team though. Unfortunately I think that's a big part of Wenger's legacy, himself and Liam Brady obviously had their ideas on how the game should be played and what kind of players they wanted to develop, technical ability trumped everything else. Would Wenger have had the same success if he hadn't inherited the likes of Adams, Keown, Dixon, Parlour, he certainly wouldn't have gone out and signed them. When Vieira came into the team as a youngster these were the experienced guys he had around him, they helped develop him into the player he became, nobody who came through the system at Arsenal since had those kind of role models. The Arsenal of those days were a team you wouldn't push around, nowadays they're as nearly as soft as Spurs. Nearly I said.
 
Don't get me wrong, I like technical players too, ask me to pick my favourite Arsenal player from the last 30 years and Dennis Bergkamp wins hands-down. You wouldn't win anything with 6 or 7 Bergkamps in a team though. Unfortunately I think that's a big part of Wenger's legacy, himself and Liam Brady obviously had their ideas on how the game should be played and what kind of players they wanted to develop, technical ability trumped everything else. Would Wenger have had the same success if he hadn't inherited the likes of Adams, Keown, Dixon, Parlour, he certainly wouldn't have gone out and signed them. When Vieira came into the team as a youngster these were the experienced guys he had around him, they helped develop him into the player he became, nobody who came through the system at Arsenal since had those kind of role models. The Arsenal of those days were a team you wouldn't push around, nowadays they're as nearly as soft as Spurs. Nearly I said.
Wenger knew how to sign a hardman and a headcase too, if it were for the betterment of the side, Campbell and Viera were hard, Cygan, Petit and Lehmann were headcases who had balls.

interesting thing is that the current arsenal philosophy is the suppress that aggression, supposedly Guendouzi is in the cold because he was reprimanded for squaring up to Neal Maupay last season and refusing to apologise, we could do with a little more of that.

Bergkamp was a genius and a joy to watch, but i grew up watching Paul Merson and always enjoyed the technical and driving midfielder, haven’t had a genuine technician in the middle of the park since Cazorla left, its all become very sideways and conservative. I have high hopes for a new generation with Saka, ESR, Balogun, Nelson and Azeez.
 
Wenger knew how to sign a hardman and a headcase too, if it were for the betterment of the side, Campbell and Viera were hard, Cygan, Petit and Lehmann were headcases who had balls.

interesting thing is that the current arsenal philosophy is the suppress that aggression, supposedly Guendouzi is in the cold because he was reprimanded for squaring up to Neal Maupay last season and refusing to apologise, we could do with a little more of that.

Bergkamp was a genius and a joy to watch, but i grew up watching Paul Merson and always enjoyed the technical and driving midfielder, haven’t had a genuine technician in the middle of the park since Cazorla left, its all become very sideways and conservative. I have high hopes for a new generation with Saka, ESR, Balogun, Nelson and Azeez.
Petit, Cygan, Lehmann, all signed relatively early in his reign and never replaced. Campbell the same. I think they were more to combat the opposition at the time than to fit his vision of the perfect team, as the years went by that became the over-riding motive for player recruitment and the fight was bred out of the squad. Merson would have been my favourite before Bergkamp, David Rocastle, Anders Limpar, there were always flair players but there was always a strong backbone behind them. Arteta is supposed to be about big characters and passion and commitment to the cause, I've yet to see much evidence of it on the pitch.
 
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