I think we're always the same, we start poorly cos we've sold our best players and tried replacing them, then at the end of the season our squad starts to gel and we get a good run going.

I have no doubt the same squad would do a little better this year, but still not enough to challenge the top 3. It's really frustrating when we've got such a good foundation to build on but we won't.

Not to mention teams around or above us are strengthening. Except for united who were 20 pointw ahead anyway. Man city looks crazy strong btw

Remember the Fulham away game in that period Show that tape to Wenger and then ask if he still thinks this squad can challenge...

2. We were truly awful in the first part of the season with exactly the same players.
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No. At the start of the season we weren't playing with Koscielny and Ramsey and Rosicky. When them 3 came in, is when we hit our golden run of form.

Anyone taken a look at the teams we beat in our run at the end of the season? Not one finished in the top half of the table.

No. At the start of the season we weren't playing with Koscielny and Ramsey and Rosicky. When them 3 came in, is when we hit our golden run of form.
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Well, I agree to an extent, one thing I would like to say is at the begining of the season last year it was more about balancing the team. We had just lost our best striker, we were working with a slightly different defensive system and we couldnt both atack and defend. By the end of the season, we managed to find the balance and that lead to our "efficient performances".

being efficient is exactly how united won the title last season

Anyone taken a look at the teams we beat in our run at the end of the season? Not one finished in the top half of the table.
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we had a tough run, we played a lot of relegation facing teams,
what about Cesc last season with us? we faced similar opposition but still couldn't grind out the points. I think we got like 4 points in the last 7 games or something

However WE NEED TO BUY!!!

We will get owned again home and away by the top 3 (city, united and Chelsea)

I'm frankly fed up of competing for the 4th place trophy.

Enough is enough

Also we had players adjusting to the league ...as time went on the improved....

being efficient is exactly how united won the title last season
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Stoke under Pulis were efficient. Don't compare our efficiency to United's, they're different levels.

You know teams face relegation because their not very good? As for Cesc's last season we were still in with a shout for a title and Wenger either couldn't motivate them or give them the believe needed to push on whereas for his coveted fourth place trophy I'm guessing it wasn't too hard.

Doublethink

Exactly. And relegation troubled teams will even field weakened sides against the top teams knowing they are better off saving their strength for a match they can more realistically win.

WAIT so you think Wenger wouldn't try to motivate the guys for the TITLE but he would for 4th place? You guys are beyond hopeless.
Team does something good let's bash it so we can make our anti-Wenger stance stronger. Fecking useless you lot are

Not too mention we struggled in nearly every one of them.

No my point was that if you regularly get top four its gonna be a lot easier to convince the players they are capable of achieving that as opposed to winning the league, I'm useless and I needed to break that down for you? I didn't imply that he didn't try more that he wasn't good enough to motivate them.

I'm pro Wenger but that doesn't mean I don't have the right to criticize stupid decisions by Arsene or anyone else at our club.

Socialist wage structure - stupid.
Not properly strengthening this summer - stupid

We do lots of things really well at Arsenal but I for one won't delude myself or sit back and ignore things when we do stuff badly.

And relegation troubled teams will even field weakened sides against the top teams knowing they are better off saving their strength for a match they can more realistically win.
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BullCrap , please tell me a game they fielded a weakened team against us? these teams know that they can beat arsenal.

I'm not saying that we shouldn't buy but at the same time don't belittle the great run the team made at the end of the season!

pp1212.

Actually I'm merely suggesting that bigging up victories against relegation scrappers is somewhat overvaluing those results.
If you don't believe that some of these sides would prioritize fixtures against their closer rivals then fair enough but I certainly do believe that.

I'm not saying they don't but Arsenal is a team that most lower sides consider they could beat, and they have.
Relegation teams have always been considered very difficult to beat. We had a good run, but we need to build on that, it's really annoying as I really believe if we strengthened well this year we would be in with a shout to win the title.

Instead it's looking like we will just stay at the same place

So the argument for us not improving is that when we played all of the teams first time in the first half of the season we were poor and when we played them again in the second half of the season and did a lot better it was not because our team had improved.

I suppose new players settling in and others having a chance to get some fitness after returning from injury had nothing to do with it either. And the fact we had the two players with the highest number of passes in the league must have been because every opposition let us.

And of course you expect us to go backwards rather than pick up where we left off.

Exactly. And relegation troubled teams will even field weakened sides against the top teams knowing they are better off saving their strength for a match they can more realistically win.
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Have you got a few examples for us?