09 Apr 2014 23:30:39
Dags

small steps, bloody hell are you an ant lol, how small do you want them

As for an improvement, I have to disagree matey, every team is judged on the PL as you know, the FA Cup over the years has not been taken seriously even by AW, he rests players. This has to be one of the weakest Semi Finals for years we should win the thing, I don't see how that can be counted as an improvement.

If we do and then win the Charity Shield ( whatever its called) we will really be on a role :)

1.) 10 Apr 2014
Banbury,

I hear what you are saying mate, but this is how I see it.

Highbury was our home for many many years. Whilst we were there, we could compete with anybody. Man Utd, Liverpool etc.

All the top team's played on the same level. Than something happened that changed the landscape of English football, indeed world football, forever.

His name was Roman Abramovic. He bought Chelsea, pumped millions of pounds, a small drop in the ocean to him, into his 'pet project' and turned them into an almost unstoppable force.

Not to be outdone, Sheikh 'money-bags' came along, stole Roman's thunder, and turned Man City from nobodies into an elite force.

Can we compete with the money men? No we can't, so what do we do?

Arsene than decided the only way to match them was to enlist the help of his supporters. Highbury held 40,000 and we had another 18,000 on the waiting list for season tickets.

So, we moved to the Emirates, an all-seater 60,000 stadia that guaranteed more supporters watch the games, thus generating an extra £3m per game in turnstile sales alone, not to mention stadium rights, stadium naming, re-branding and extra match day revenue.

Result? we were earning £millions more but we were mortgaged to the hilt.

Solution? we have to sell our top players to stay afloat and to balance the books. Short-term heartache but long-term longevity.

Wenger had his hands tied behind his back and had to sacrifice Arsenal Football Club for the sake of Arsenal Football Club.

The short term heartache is now a thing of the past. The dark day's are over and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

The stadia is nearly paid for, we have stopped selling all our 'stars' to balance the book's and we can now start spending money.

We have money in the bank and huge sponsorship deals, both on-field and off-field and our marketing department has never been busier.

We can never match the 'Oligarth's and Sheiks' of this world, but at least we can step into the ring with them and throw a few punches, and hopefully some of them will land.

In this time, Arsene has managed to sustain the club's European activities by qualifying for CL every season, for the past 18 years and I believe this is a record, both domestically and overseas, even the mighty Real Madrid's of this world can't match.

All this on a shoe string budget whilst other team's have been using an open cheque-book.

So, If we finish 4th and win the FA Cup I would consider this a huge achievement but, I hope, just a stepping stone for much bigger and better thing's.

2.) 10 Apr 2014
Ooppssyy that was me above.

Dag's

3.) 10 Apr 2014
Dags. Now that's what you call a post!
Everyone should take lessons from that.

4.) 10 Apr 2014
10 Apr 2014 05:59:35
Great post Dags :-)

5.) 10 Apr 2014
DG that is an excellent post mate and does put the past few years into perspective.
The fact that we have been left so far behind Liverpool this season is the stand out thing for me, city and chavski both had excellent bases to build on and the dosh to buy who they wanted and needed so catching or keeping pace with them was a big ask.
But Liverpool with all due respect were well behind us coming into the season but are now head and shoulders above us and we are again fighting for the bigger boys wooden spoon.
Our collapse and the way its happened has both stunned and taken away my belief in this Arsenal team that just a little while ago I so believed in and would have defended against anyone but its hard to defend or believe in what we have seen the last few weeks.
I am still getting used to the idea that we will finish below Liverpool this season. How did that happened?

6.) 10 Apr 2014
Totally agree with what you are saying about finishing below Liverpool this season especially as they have come from being so far behind us. I think this can be summed up really quickly. Sturridge & Suarez Vs Giroud &??. We have simply been blown away by this.

7.) 10 Apr 2014
Dags I agree, if ozil is just the start I agree, but if he was just a one off, then all we are doing is taking 1 step forward and 2 steps back. We don't need to spend 500 mill, but spending 40-50 mill is a must on a big player to build the team.

I really want to see if Arsenal buy Draxler this summer, he can be the only hope we have of improving year on year.

8.) 10 Apr 2014
Thank you people lol

9.) 10 Apr 2014
Laker, Draxler would be immense mate