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Wenger Vows To Wield The Axe


MrJibbles

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Arsène Wenger has vowed to make wholesale changes to his side for tomorrow’s Champions League tie against Porto after condemning a performance that he claims left him feeling physically sick. The Arsenal manager was as angry as he has been in 12 years at the club after Saturday’s shock 2-1 home defeat by Hull City and took the highly unusual step of publicly criticising his players.Wenger stopped short of naming individuals, but left his side in no doubt that they had underperformed after subjecting them to an hour-long dressing-down after the final whistle.“There will be changes on Tuesday, certainly,” Wenger said. “I will see how many, but there will be changes. There were enough ingredients today to make me physically sick.“What we delivered today was not good enough and we know that. What was the most disappointing is that we were 1-0 in front and still lost the game, after having struggled in the first half to score.”Arsenal missed the chance to return to the top of the Barclays Premier League by losing their second match of the season, leading Wenger to question his players’ commitment. “We were not at the level we should have been,” he said. “I believe that’s more down to the mental side than anything technical. If we had had the same level of commitment as Hull, we would have won the game, as the technical advantage is with us.“I don’t know if they were complacent, it’s difficult to say. Are they subconsciously thinking, ‘It’s OK, we will do it.’ It can happen. But where we are guilty is after a difficult first half, we went 1-0 up and then let it go again.”Robin van Persie’s place is most under threat after an anonymous performance alongside Emmanuel Adebayor up front, but Wenger also suggested he would look at his established centre-back pairing of William Gallas and Kolo Touré after conceding a soft goal from a set-piece for the third time this season. Fresh from signing a new four-year contract, Johan Djourou is next in line after an outstanding performance in last week’s Carling Cup win over Sheffield United and the Switzerland defender would give Arsenal the height they lack.“I believe that we have more a size problem than quality in our defending problem,” Wenger said. “Our centre backs are not very tall. I don’t know what we can do. It’s not only centre backs who defend. As a team we are a bit short.“I do not necessarily think it’s inexperience. We gave them too much room on the first goal and we didn’t clear the ball on the second one, and that’s basically it.“I don’t know how many games we can afford to lose in the league. What is important now is to recover and prepare for the next one. Can we afford to lose not one more? I don’t know. And what is important now is not how many games we lose in the season, it’s how we respond on Tuesday night.”Gallas denied accusations of complacency, but conceded that a dramatic improvement is needed if Arsenal are to achieve anything this season. “I don’t think we were complacent and I hope not because if we think like this, we will not go anywhere,” he said. “The players were ready to play a strong game, we were not lucky and we have to work more and try to stay in the fourth position.“We didn’t know them [Hull] very well, but they showed the character, they showed they can play football. They were very strong and we were not strong enough, so we have to forget that game and think about the next game on Tuesday.”http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/foo...icle4842957.ece
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Has silvestre made an appearance for you lot yet?also gallas article..

William Gallas has told his Arsenal team-mates that complacency could undermine their title aspirations.The Gunners suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at the hands of Hull on Saturday, a result which has raised questions over their ability to take the big prizes this term.Having not got their hands on any silverware since 2005 Gallas is desperate to end that barren run this year.However, The Frenchman accepts that there can be no repeat of the Tigers disaster in the future and hopes Arsene Wenger's men were not taking their opponents lightly.Luck"I don't think so and I hope not because if we think like this we will not go anywhere," the club captain told Arsenal's official website."The players were ready to play a strong game, we were not lucky and we have to work more and try to stay in the fourth position."It's very difficult to accept. We said all the time we wanted to win every game and we lost 2-1 to Hull City."Arsenal have an immediate opportunity to get back to winning ways when UEFA Champions League action returns in midweek.RecoverThe Gunners welcome Porto to Emirates Stadium on Tuesday and Wenger knows his side must improve drastically from their Hull debacle.The French coach has refused to rule his side out of the Premier League title race following the surprise result, but admits there is now little room for error."I don't know if we can't afford to lose again. I believe that what is important now is to recover and prepare well for the next game on Tuesday," he said."What we delivered against Hull was not good enough, we know that, so the important thing now is not how many games we can lose this season but preparing well for Tuesday night."
why doesnt he come out putting his hands up and accept 90% of the goals you have conceded this season have been his fault.
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One fan called into talk sport today, ripped the team.especially Gallas and AdebayorGallas for being a shite captain, Adebayor for being more interested in money than the team. I dont think he realised at the time all this big headedness and flirting with barca and milan was destroying his relationship with the fansshould have never given him a new contract after one season, and flam should have been replaced.

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It's really not about making wholesale changes because of one result it just we need to get rid of this notion that we are going to waltz past lower tier teams and that we can take the foot of the gas when we're one up. Need to start killing games off.Gallas and Toure are incompatibale and will always struggle with that ariel threat. Denilson and Fabregas in the centre isn't going to be a match for top teams and Denilson who has been very good thus far is not a defensive midfielder and teams who can play will always be on our defences back as they have no protection.Walcott needs to play full games imo, his pace will be a constant threat even in the 90 minute as in the 1st.I fully expect us to beat Porto.

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One fan called into talk sport today, ripped the team.especially Gallas and AdebayorGallas for being a shite captain, Adebayor for being more interested in money than the team. I dont think he realised at the time all this big headedness and flirting with barca and milan was destroying his relationship with the fansshould have never given him a new contract after one season, and flam should have been replaced.
Why can't Gooners just accept a sh*t performance instead of going into all these other issues.Bayor has contributed to our overall play, making space for others & getting a few assists...Still got more goals then Torres but you don't hear pool supporters bitching about himSame with Rooney, Tevez etc How can anyone say if Gallas is a sh*t captain or not, have they spoken to players to see how they feel about his leadership? Gallas makes mistakes but shows great determination at times, determination that has won us games.I think we need a new marking system, stop making Gallas mark these 6ft+ players. Lets see what happens when Diaby returns, hopefully he can stay fit for a length of time & provide the team with some height & drive in the middle.As for the Porto game Im hoping Nasri is fit, we've gone from having 3 playmakers (Tomas, Cesc & Hleb) to 1, Cesc needs helps because he's being forced to play to deep at the mo. Bendtner done the biz against Bolton & Shef Utd, deserves another chance.
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Guest Robin Van Persie
lmao make changes and bring in who exactly
see it thereonly man i want to see starting is vela reallyand i felt he should have been introduced much earlier in the hull gamei am glad wenger is brewin' though, guy needs to realise things
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could of easily been a different storyBefore we got them goals they hit the bar on the couter and missed a absolute sitter from a corner which was the result of our poor marking and defending in the box.Wengers said we've been working on our defense and defending set pieces but i just cant see any improvement so farThe main problem is the personell, 2 incompetent in the air center backs and the rest bar Adebayor are short and lacking in the strength department

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