We were in 4 competitions not so long ago and people are quick to forget that, a couple of games we absolutely bottled which we should have been easy winners of and the season may have turned out differently.
THe first day of the season, before anyone played, 20 teams were joint top and in with a shout of the title.
Being "in the running" and this means, mathematically, means NOTHING, it never has and never will.
Again when people say we were doing well, we got 36 points in the first half of the season, we had a run of VERY EASY GAMES after xmas, followed by a run of harder games towards the end(not very hard though).
When will people realise, if you play the bottom 6 at home then the top 6 away from home, you might be on 18 points and looking fantastic after 6 games, and be on 18 points and look shocking after 12 games.
Arsenal were never at any stage in this title fight, 36points first half of the season, 32 the second half, if we matched the first half and won the extra game or two, we'd still have been not have been very close to winning the title. This was in a season Utd and Chelsea were poor.
In the past 6-7 years average points to win the title is probably around the 86/87 mark, we got 68 points, we're 20 points off where we need to be, we finished 12 behind this year and this year was weird, very weird, 80 points winning a title has been usual since the late 90's.
AS for how the season went, exactly as I predicted at the beginning of the season, run of easy games and lots of points = fans deluding themselves, the come down with a run of harder games and not enough points = fans become suicidal.
We're incapable of winning the biggest games, we don't work ina 4-5-1, we have better players on the bench than several of our starting players, the same team with zero changes except a different starting line up would do much better. Literally nothing has changed in 6 seasons, every big huge mistake Wenger made 6 years ago are the mistakes he would make today.
When Hangeland is on it(every game but Liverpool... wonder if Liverpool are looking for a CB
), one striker isn't going to be enough. Diaby as either a defensive or creative force is laughable.
People misread the problems with Wenger, the problem admited by Wenger, is he doesn't know whats going wrong. Its not that he won't spend £20mil on a player to replace Denilson, its that he doesn't see he needs to. Thats a VERY big difference that people seem unwilling to spot. Denilson is asking to leave, Wenger isn't kicking him out on his arse, THAT is our problem.
Wengers become quite literally incapable of judging who should and shouldn't be at Arsenal. Arshavin for 15mil when we were joint top scorers at the time but had conceded some 150% more than Utd/Chelsea at the time? 15mil on a great player, but not the player we needed at all.
. Gera's a bloody muppet, not sure if it does cost us the Europa League spot or not - but if it does he nearly stopped us being 7th (although Everton won) and qualifying for Europa League...in probably his last game for us.
So basically, If you are the Manager of Chelsea you HAVE to win a trophy or you are gone....even if you won two the year before.