Diving Arsenal Players - The Least Shocking Admission Ever

[Gooner Girl]

I have plenty of reasons to hate Man Utd. I don't actually think I claimed in my post that i was hacked off about RVP going there because they are our main rivals (though to dismiss us totally as rivals is not something I agree with Worthy, and i would far rather have sold him abroad then to any club competing for the same trophies as us)

Most of my hatred of united as it happens stems from further back in time - mid/late nineties, early noughties, but there are many reasons I hate them more then other 'top' clubs such as City, Chelsea and Liverpool. In fact, the only club I dislike more is spurs.

So, I'm pissed off he went to united whether you think I should be or not. Selling your best player, captain and talisman to one of your most hated rivals is never a good thing and I feel the club should have looked beyond just the money in the coffers on this one and picked up on what message it send out to the fans, the clubs other players and the other premier league teams.

Wenger has had my patience for long enough now and whilst he may not have had a direct hand in the selling of RVP to United I do believe he could have had some influence, so if we don't win a trophy this season I may well have to join many other gooners in the 'Wenger out' club...

[Worthy4England]

Fair points GG.

I hate 'em just because I can. Any of our players going there probably wouldn't fuss me too much though.

[Gooner Girl]

Worthy, you're not in the same league as Manchester United! I'd have been far less fussed if RVP had gone to Bolton, Juventus, even Barcelona.

And you might be a tad upset and let down if one of your best players (wracking my brains trying to think of your 'best' players here ) having stated their love for Bolton and desire to win trophies with you (this is imaginary, ok? i know that word 'trophies' is bordering on unreality when linked with Bolton ) had a great season after many, many injury hit ones where the club and fans persevered with him and paid his wages, then decided after that good season to bugger off to Blackburn.

Emotional investment in footballers is a dangerous thing.

[Worthy4England]

Worthy, you're not in the same league as Manchester United! I'd have been far less fussed if RVP had gone to Bolton, Juventus, even Barcelona.

And you might be a tad upset and let down if one of your best players (wracking my brains trying to think of your 'best' players here ) having stated their love for Bolton and desire to win trophies with you (this is imaginary, ok? i know that word 'trophies' is bordering on unreality when linked with Bolton ) had a great season after many, many injury hit ones where the club and fans persevered with him and paid his wages, then decided after that good season to bugger off to Blackburn.

Emotional investment in footballers is a dangerous thing.

Indeed we're not, but in the last few years, we've probably had about the same chance of winning it as Arsenal. None. Which was my point.

We've had some defections to the Dingles - Joof when Allardyce was there, Frandsen, Djorkaeff - when you're talking "best" players, I think our World Cup and European Championship winning attacking forward, trumps you're "won bugger all" upstart. Generally though they've gone when we wanted them to and we were done with 'em - possible exception Frandsen - who realised the error of his ways and came back.

Arsenal seem to be a Club that is struggling to retain it's "top talent" in ever increasing volumes - Fabregas, Nasri, Van Persie, Clichy, Adebayor, Toure - all of whom you might have differing opinions about how good they were, but you'd probably have a better squad with most of 'em than without.

Reality is you're a selling Club, a long, long way from being as good as United, with much less money that either last Year's European Champions or last season's Premiership winners, potless for a good number of years.

So yes better placed than Bolton, but serious competition to the others over the long term? I dunno - from an "outsider's" perspective, I still have you nearer the Newcastle, Everton, Spurs, Liverpool bit of the league. Not to say you can't win the Prem, just that it isn't looking too likely.

As a Bolton fan, I accepted the fact that if we got anyone good, realistically we were never going to keep them very long, quite a long while ago. Arsenal are in the same boat - with fewer teams that can buy your decent players, but enough of them at the moment, that means you can't retain them.

[Bruce Rioja]

GG - he hasn't passed his medical with them yet. Just sayin', like.

[Gooner Girl]

GG - he hasn't passed his medical with them yet. Just sayin', like.

You're near Manchester. Quick, go and find him and give him a poke in the ribs (after he's passed his medical) that'll see him warming the United injury table for half the season.

[BWFC_Insane]

Arsenal's problem is Wenger. Its been clear for a long long time that was the case. Their fans are only just starting to wake up to it.

[Gooner Girl]

Worthy, you're not in the same league as Manchester United! I'd have been far less fussed if RVP had gone to Bolton, Juventus, even Barcelona.

And you might be a tad upset and let down if one of your best players (wracking my brains trying to think of your 'best' players here ) having stated their love for Bolton and desire to win trophies with you (this is imaginary, ok? i know that word 'trophies' is bordering on unreality when linked with Bolton ) had a great season after many, many injury hit ones where the club and fans persevered with him and paid his wages, then decided after that good season to bugger off to Blackburn.

Emotional investment in footballers is a dangerous thing.

Indeed we're not, but in the last few years, we've probably had about the same chance of winning it as Arsenal. None. Which was my point.

We've had some defections to the Dingles - Joof when Allardyce was there, Frandsen, Djorkaeff - when you're talking "best" players, I think our World Cup and European Championship winning attacking forward, trumps you're "won bugger all" upstart. Generally though they've gone when we wanted them to and we were done with 'em - possible exception Frandsen - who realised the error of his ways and came back.

Arsenal seem to be a Club that is struggling to retain it's "top talent" in ever increasing volumes - Fabregas, Nasri, Van Persie, Clichy, Adebayor, Toure - all of whom you might have differing opinions about how good they were, but you'd probably have a better squad with most of 'em than without.

Reality is you're a selling Club, a long, long way from being as good as United, with much less money that either last Year's European Champions or last season's Premiership winners, potless for a good number of years.

So yes better placed than Bolton, but serious competition to the others over the long term? I dunno - from an "outsider's" perspective, I still have you nearer the Newcastle, Everton, Spurs, Liverpool bit of the league. Not to say you can't win the Prem, just that it isn't looking too likely.

As a Bolton fan, I accepted the fact that if we got anyone good, realistically we were never going to keep them very long, quite a long while ago. Arsenal are in the same boat - with fewer teams that can buy your decent players, but enough of them at the moment, that means you can't retain them.

Other then your first ludicrous claim that we have had as much chance as Bolton have over the past few years at beating Manchester United to trophies (we may have finished with the same amount of trophies as you lot but we have certainly had more chance of winning them - for instance, you have to be IN the champions league to have a chance of winning it...) sadly i agree with the rest of your post and that is partly what is hacking me off so much. We are becoming a selling club, i don't doubt things would have been different if some of the players you mentioned above had stayed. When Wenger first arrived he seemed to have a knack of buying players noone had ever really heard of, turning them into super stars - Pires, Ljungberg for instance, then selling them when they were actually pretty much past their peak. This isn't the case anymore, we have been selling players off too soon. Maybe its this obsession with balancing the books, we run a FAR tighter ship financially then most of the Premier League - which is great, BUT clearly now its costing us trophies. Perhaps we have to fling some cash about in the hope that paying ridiculous wages to ensure our top players stay then results in trophies and thus money back...

Anyway, i should grow up, stop sulking and wish RVP all the best so....

Good luck at Manchester United Robin, break a leg...

[boltonboris]

CFR Cluj were in the Champions League.. They've as much chance as you as winning it.. None

[Gravedigger]

Worthy, you're not in the same league as Manchester United! I'd have been far less fussed if RVP had gone to Bolton, Juventus, even Barcelona.

And you might be a tad upset and let down if one of your best players (wracking my brains trying to think of your 'best' players here ) having stated their love for Bolton and desire to win trophies with you (this is imaginary, ok? i know that word 'trophies' is bordering on unreality when linked with Bolton ) had a great season after many, many injury hit ones where the club and fans persevered with him and paid his wages, then decided after that good season to bugger off to Blackburn.

Emotional investment in footballers is a dangerous thing.

Indeed we're not, but in the last few years, we've probably had about the same chance of winning it as Arsenal. None. Which was my point.

We've had some defections to the Dingles - Joof when Allardyce was there, Frandsen, Djorkaeff - when you're talking "best" players, I think our World Cup and European Championship winning attacking forward, trumps you're "won bugger all" upstart. Generally though they've gone when we wanted them to and we were done with 'em - possible exception Frandsen - who realised the error of his ways and came back.

Arsenal seem to be a Club that is struggling to retain it's "top talent" in ever increasing volumes - Fabregas, Nasri, Van Persie, Clichy, Adebayor, Toure - all of whom you might have differing opinions about how good they were, but you'd probably have a better squad with most of 'em than without.

Reality is you're a selling Club, a long, long way from being as good as United, with much less money that either last Year's European Champions or last season's Premiership winners, potless for a good number of years.

So yes better placed than Bolton, but serious competition to the others over the long term? I dunno - from an "outsider's" perspective, I still have you nearer the Newcastle, Everton, Spurs, Liverpool bit of the league. Not to say you can't win the Prem, just that it isn't looking too likely.

As a Bolton fan, I accepted the fact that if we got anyone good, realistically we were never going to keep them very long, quite a long while ago. Arsenal are in the same boat - with fewer teams that can buy your decent players, but enough of them at the moment, that means you can't retain them.

Other then your first ludicrous claim that we have had as much chance as Bolton have over the past few years at beating Manchester United to trophies (we may have finished with the same amount of trophies as you lot but we have certainly had more chance of winning them - for instance, you have to be IN the champions league to have a chance of winning it...) sadly i agree with the rest of your post and that is partly what is hacking me off so much. We are becoming a selling club, i don't doubt things would have been different if some of the players you mentioned above had stayed. When Wenger first arrived he seemed to have a knack of buying players noone had ever really heard of, turning them into super stars - Pires, Ljungberg for instance, then selling them when they were actually pretty much past their peak. This isn't the case anymore, we have been selling players off too soon. Maybe its this obsession with balancing the books, we run a FAR tighter ship financially then most of the Premier League - which is great, BUT clearly now its costing us trophies. Perhaps we have to fling some cash about in the hope that paying ridiculous wages to ensure our top players stay then results in trophies and thus money back...

Anyway, i should grow up, stop sulking and wish RVP all the best so....

Good luck at Manchester United Robin, break a leg...

Bet you haven't got the LDV Vans Trophy.

[boltonboris]

If Blackburn had loads of money and were going for trophies all of a sudden and they wanted Stuart Holden, we wouldn't begrudge him the move.. Because we're realistic

[Gooner Girl]

If Blackburn had loads of money and were going for trophies all of a sudden and they wanted Stuart Holden, we wouldn't begrudge him the move.. Because we're realistic

You might feel differently if it was pretty much 7 years he had been on and off your injury table before coming good whilst you paid his salary, not just the 1.

Anyway, Bob Wilson summed my feeling up a bit more calmly and rationally then i could at the moment.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19280162" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[CrazyHorse]

Anyway, Bob Wilson summed my feeling up a bit more calmly and rationally then i could at the moment.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19280162" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Aye, particularly loving the sour grapes here..

it is £24m for a 29-year-old who has a history of injury problems and one truly magnificent season in eight

And this gem..

"I look at it and I'm very excited by the team Arsene Wenger is putting together," said Wilson.

Haven't the Arsenal faithful been spouting that exact same load of old bollocks for like the last nine seasons?

[Gooner Girl]

Anyway, Bob Wilson summed my feeling up a bit more calmly and rationally then i could at the moment.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19280162" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Aye, particularly loving the sour grapes here..

it is £24m for a 29-year-old who has a history of injury problems and one truly magnificent season in eight

And this gem..

"I look at it and I'm very excited by the team Arsene Wenger is putting together," said Wilson.

Haven't the Arsenal faithful been spouting that exact same load of old bollocks for like the last nine seasons?

Well, perhaps I was lying when I said I totally agree with Bob Wilson. I'm not that excited about this season or our new signings yet... Everything feels a bit flat. I have no serious hopes beyond a domestic cup if we are lucky.

[boltonboris]

I've already seen loads of tweets from Arselol fans banging on about how Podolski will be emezzin' for 'em next season and they won't miss him etc..

[Gooner Girl]

I've already seen loads of tweets from Arselol fans banging on about how Podolski will be emezzin' for 'em next season and they won't miss him etc..

Yeah, well that's all bravado. Being realistic here, RVP was top premier league scorer last season and much as I hate to admit it at times we were a one man team. Podolski will be having to go some way to even coming near RVP (when he's fit and on form) now, I will admit to not having seen him play so maybe I am doing the bloke a dis-service and he will actually be ace and the gooners will be chanting 'Robin who' but I certainly won't be staking my signed photo of Nigel Winterburn on it.

And even with RVP on top form our biggest accomplishment last season was finishing above spurs. You know it's bad as an Arsenal fan when St Totteringhams day is in may...

Actually, the most exciting happening at Arsenal this close season as far as I am concerned was the promotion of Steve Bould to Wengers no 2. Really hoping he can whip our defence into shape...

[Bruce Rioja]

Well, at least you can cheer yourself up with this.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19280034" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Gooner Girl]

Well, at least you can cheer yourself up with this.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19280034" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Why thankyou, that did raise a smile...

[thebish]

so if we don't win a trophy this season I may well have to join many other gooners in the 'Wenger out' club...

you said that last season and the one before...

[Gooner Girl]

so if we don't win a trophy this season I may well have to join many other gooners in the 'Wenger out' club...

you said that last season and the one before...

Well I already have one of my size 3 (and a halfs) inside that camp...