Reputation of Arsenal Football Club

[LMAO]

Two days ago, Rene Girard, Lille manager, said, "To those who say our league is shit, it [Monaco’s win over Arsenal] proves there’s perhaps shit elsewhere as well."

I don't know about any of y'all, but that's damning for me to hear. For the manager of fecking Lille who are leagues below us in terms of club stature to come out and say that, it shows that we are becoming more of a joke to the rest of the world.

Girard's words got me thinking. Just how is Arsenal perceived by others nowadays? For me, gone are the days when we were mentioned in the same rarified air as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, AC Milan, and Juventus as one of the top clubs in the world. Yes, I realize the luster of United, Milan, and Juventus has dulled, so they're suffering the same fate as we currently are. Nowadays, I believe we're perceived on the same level as the likes of Juventus, Liverpool, Porto (in Europe), Valencia, and Roma — clubs that had their dominant period but have since fallen by the wayside, although it appears Juventus, Valencia, and Roma are experiencing their own respective renaissances. Arsenal are not currently in the highest tier of European clubs, but with a few changes, we will be back to the summit in no time:

1. Sack Arsene Wenger. He's held this club back for the past decade. I know Wenger supporters will tout that we haven't had money to spend during much of that period. To that, I say, "Baloney!" We've always had money to spend; just look at the financials. And we're spending a lot more money now in the transfer market than we ever have, yet we still find ourselves in the no-man's land of better than the rest but not quite good enough to sit at the big boy's table. The one constant in that is Le Prof. I think he's shown that he doesn't have it in him to go toe-to-toe with Europe's best clubs. He's a terrible manager in Europe. Only 2 semifinals appearances and 1 finals appearance in 17 years is absolutely pathetic for a club as big as Arsenal. He's also lost the plot domestically. Gone are the days where we were fairly certain to finish top 2 in the PL. Now, the hierarchy and many fans are okay with a top 4 finish. Wenger has created a mentality of complacency and mediocrity around the club.
2. Get a manager capable of winning domestic and international competitions. My first choice would be Simeone. He'd change the culture of this club overnight. Gone would be the days of complacency and coddling. We'd finally start to see the players play for each other instead of mopping around disinterested in the result. My second choice is Klopp. He's had a down year in the BL, but his sides are like Simeone's: well-drilled and full of energy. My third choice is Ancelotti. If he fails to win the CL and La Liga this season or next season, he's getting the boot because Real Madrid don't stand for mediocrity. He's one of Europe's best managers, and he'd get this club out of our current funk.
3. Get rid of our average players. Szczesny, Mertesacker, Arteta, Giroud, Flamini, Welbeck, Monreal, and Diaby should be nowhere near a title-winning squad, yet all of them (bar glass Diaby) find themselves in our starting XI regularly. Think of the players that would get into the squads (never mind the first XI) of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Chelsea. I can't honestly think of anyone bar Ozil, Sanchez, Koscielny, Cazorla, and possibly Walcott who would find themselves featuring. That's appalling because we're supposed to be competing with those aforementioned clubs, yet barely anyone we have would find themselves getting minutes for those aforementioned clubs.
4. Bring in proper players to propel us into the upper echelon of Europe's best. That means we need a new spine (GK, CB, DM, and ST). We haven't had a proper GK since Lehmann left. I'd go for Cech in the summer and have him between the sticks while sending Martinez out on loan to develop; Martinez can be our GK of the future, but he needs regular playing time to develop. For CB, I'd try to bring in Abdennour or Hummels to solidify the position. We need a replacement for Mertesacker badly, and I'm fine with giving Gabriel a couple seasons to see if he can hack it. We still haven't replaced Vieira or Gilberto, and they've been gone for a decade. We need a physical presence guarding the middle of the field and the defense. Bring in Schneiderlin and either Krychowiak or Gustavo. A midfield pairing of Schneiderlin-Krychowiak stops the leakage of goals we've been experiencing for many seasons now, and we can once again control games like a club of our stature should. Striker is a bit tricky. Do we bring in an out-and-out striker, or do we bring in someone able to play across the front line and have Sanchez, Walcott, and him interchange throughout the game? I'd rather have the latter, and for that, I'm bringing in Reus.
5. Allow a proper football atmosphere at the Emirates. Allow fans to stand and sing their hearts out instead of being shushed and told to sit down all the time. Lower ticket prices to allow accessibility to more fans. The club is still going to generate huge match days revenues either way. Fans aid in pushing the players on when the game becomes a tad dry, and we need that to make the Emirates a fortress.

tl; dr: Ligue 1 managers are calling us shit, and we need change at the club to restore our image.

[gunnor]

I honestly don't think a lot of Arsenal fans fully grasp what Wenger is doing to the club. They live in the past, they just don't understand that clubs, players and managers no longer see Arsenal the way it was even just 5 years ago. Griezmann rejected us for Atletico Madrid because he believes Diego Simeone's training methods are superior to Wenger's and he's damn right. Atletico Madrid was a UEFA cup team when were reaching the semi finals and quarter finals in the CL. Atletico and Diego Simeone were not even on the radar. And now they are so superior in footballing terms to us, it is unreal. We would have no chance against them at all.

Losing 1-3 at home to cannon fodder like Monaco in the CL was unthinkable just 5 years ago, it was inconceivable, it wasn't even a possibility or on the radar. Now we're expected to take it on the chin. That is how low expectations are. There are 2 ways forward:

1) We accept mediocrity and maybe even reward it by handing Wenger another 80 mill transfer kitty because obviously he's done such a great job with the players he had before.

2) We reject mediocrity and say enough is enough to Wenger.

[ESFSAFC]

After watching us against Monaco I feel we have lost our identity. Are we a direct attacking side, are we a possession based side or are we a counter attacking side.

The squad is so unbalanced and the players don't seem to be playing on the same wave length or same game plan. We look completely lost usually at the start of games, do we press or do we drop off, if the players get it right it's either by pure individual brilliance or a fluke.

We seem to only start playing after we have conceded and even then we struggle, we don't finish the chances we create when bombing forward in numbers and as a result holes and gaps open up in our back and we invariable get punished on the counter of other teams.

Also ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, use paragraphs please, wall of text is wall of text.

[Va-Va-Voom]

My name is Va-Va-Voom, and I approve this message.

[Denis_E]

^^

[DiamondGooner]

Well if Wenger won't come up with a gameplan what do you expect?

Of course we don't have a way of playing if the man in charge won't give them one.

The only time we had a proper gameplan was against Man City which we won ...... funnily enough.

And it was the players who forced Wenger to do it, he even admitted it ffs.

[hamad138]

Not only Arsenal is shit but the whole Premier league is shit. Look At Manchester United they cant even pass properly and are sitting 4.Place.

We dont have good coaches, and England is tactically lightyears behind.

[TommyGoon]

Our reputation is pretty simple - We are one of the most consistent teams in the world. We always make the top 4 of the PL, and we always go out of the CL at the first knockout stage. We always buy the same type of players, we have always make a small profit each year, we always have the same manager. Teams admire our consistency and strive to be us.

[Yorkyblue]

Well if Wenger won't come up with a gameplan what do you expect?

Of course we don't have a way of playing if the man in charge won't give them one.

The only time we had a proper gameplan was against Man City which we won ...... funnily enough.

And it was the players who forced Wenger to do it, he even admitted it ffs.

I'm starting to wonder if it wasn't a game plan at all and you were forced to play as you did.

[DiamondGooner]

Well if Wenger won't come up with a gameplan what do you expect?

Of course we don't have a way of playing if the man in charge won't give them one.

The only time we had a proper gameplan was against Man City which we won ...... funnily enough.

And it was the players who forced Wenger to do it, he even admitted it ffs.

I'm starting to wonder if it wasn't a game plan at all and you were forced to play as you did.

Wenger said it was a game plan that the players insisted on, whether we had to play that way or not is neither here nor there, if we came up with the idea before the match it is by definition a game plan.

[billie86]

Well if Wenger won't come up with a gameplan what do you expect?

Of course we don't have a way of playing if the man in charge won't give them one.

The only time we had a proper gameplan was against Man City which we won ...... funnily enough.

And it was the players who forced Wenger to do it, he even admitted it ffs.

I'm starting to wonder if it wasn't a game plan at all and you were forced to play as you did.

Wenger said it was a game plan that the players insisted on, whether we had to play that way or not is neither here nor there, if we came up with the idea before the match it is by definition a game plan.

Why the hell are the players choosing how they play? What is the point in Wenger being there if that's the case? Would Mourinho or Fergie have let his players choose how they play? Utter garbage and tbh i'm very shocked Wenger has openly admitted it if that's the case.

[DiamondGooner]

Because Wenger was going to send them out to fall on their swords and the players came up with a better idea.

He has openly admitted it, live, on camera and in print after the game, seen it myself.

[billie86]

Because Wenger was going to send them out to fall on their swords and the players came up with a better idea.

He has openly admitted it, live, on camera and in print after the game, seen it myself.

So then what is he doing for his £7 Million a year? It seems like he has lost the dressing room if players are telling him what to do.

[DiamondGooner]

They got sick of losing?

But don't worry normal order has resumed ........ as you can tell.

[ESFSAFC]

No he didn't. All he said was he listens to the advice and suggestions of the players anything more is just hyperbole and media spinning