Premier League 2015/16: 2nd of 92 clubs in England

[Rex Stone]

Don't forget the 2-1 loss at Blackburn. RVP scored early on but Samba and co. destroyed Fabianksi on set pieces. Horrible game to watch.

The Wigan game broke something inside of me. Seeing Rodallega turn Silvestre inside out like a sock puppet at will was like putting down a pet.

 

[Rex Stone]

Brilliant summary of our continual PL failings. There are many more, such as losing 3-2 to Sp*rs after leading them 2-0 at HT in Emirates.

When you add CL, League and FA Cup calamities, someone should print that and mail it to Wenger.

I was wrong. In the 2010/11 game we scored against Pool after 97 minutes. How do you not win from there?

 

[BobP]

I'm actually tempted to count the bottle jobs that have been perpetrated by Arsenal over the last 10 odd years, going to need a book.

 

[redanddread]

Actually I get it more than you and am also capable of looking at things from a different angle.

Going by the tone of pundits whenever Arsenal are being discussed its clear a lot of them are desperate to see Arsenal fail season after season, desperate for the fans to be against the team to ultimately wreck the club. Listen to people like Adrian Durham on Talksport, the mans always trying to unsettle the club.
Sure there are neutrals who appreciate good stellar football who want to see us succeed I wont deny that but their a minority. The chant ''Same old Arsenal always cheating'', you dont hear that being sang about other clubs. We are not losers at all far from that when you look at the stats we've done very well to get to where we are. Wengers continuously getting caned and slaughtered by the media, especially in Britain where I actually think its almost bullying because no other coach is scrutinized as much.

Believe it or not despite believing in Arsène still, Im not actually against change or worried that we'll experience a situation like Man Utd once Wenger departs because I think our squad doesn't require much of a re-build compared to that United team.

You're overly sensitive to Arsenal criticism bro - they all get it. Wenger's been treated like a a Don by the media, up until now maybe. Arsenal are serial bottlers and the press are all over it. You see the **** LVG's had to go through or even Mourinho. Wenger's been treated with kids gloves all along - well the gloves are off now.

Arsenal are a club that's supposed to be winning the league - it's all been set up (apparently) to do so but Wenger made such a hash of it over the last few years blaming richer clubs etc. but that excuse has been blown out of the water now. The plain truth is that Arsenal haven't had the know how to win the league & our "once" great manager doesn't have a scooby anymore. No other "top" club has had so many chances to win the league, over the last decade without doing so- we're synonymous with bottling it now. At least 3-4 times we've been top come January/February and completely fallen apart - it happens all the time now - the press are onto that in a heartbeat. If you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen.

 

[Nyctophobia]

The only positive thing about this season is that it could have been a lot worse.

 

[chessygoal]

Settle down guys, it's Sp**s, they won't win. Now that they can see the finish line, they'll crumble. See you all for St Totteringham's day

 

[redanddread]

The only positive thing about this season is that it could have been a lot worse.

hahahaha.....

 

[SuperGoon]

It was the Colombian curse that ended our hopes. We should have treated that guy with more respect.

 

[redanddread]

Settle down guys, it's Sp**s, they won't win. Now that they can see the finish line, they'll crumble. See you all for St Totteringham's day

false bravado my friend.....I wonder if Christmas will come this year also?

 

[SuperGoon]

2008/09 - despite Arshavin scoring 4 goals at Anfield, the last of which put us up 4-3 in the 90th we still concede to Yossi Benayoun 4 minutes later.

2009/10 - Despite losing away at Sp**s the game before we still have an outside the chance at the title. 2-0 up at Wigan with 10 minutes left, we let Titus Bramble, Ben Watson and Charles N'Zogbia all score to win them the game.

2010/11 - apart from the famous Newcastle comeback, equally hilarious is our game against Liverpool. After battering them for 94 minutes we finally get a penalty which RVP scores. Reminiscent of our CL tie with them 3 years earlier Pool go straight up the other end, Eboue panics and gives away a pen. 1-1.

2011/12 - Despite leading 2-1 at half time at Steve Kean's Blackburn, we concede 3 in 20 minutes to Yakubu and own goals from Song and Koscielny to lose 4-3. Blackburn were later relegated.

2012/13 - Not so many collapses this year but our home game vs Fulham deserves credit. Despite leading against a woeful Fulham we concede 3 times to draw with Arteta missing a last minute penalty.

2013/14 - 2 this year.
1) In the middle of a great run we finally wear down a tough Everton side at home with Özil scoring after 80 minutes to put us up. Deulofeu equalizes 5 minutes later.

2) Despite shipping 11 goals in 2 games to Pool and Chelsea we still somehow have a small chance at the title. We nip that in the bud at home to Swansea. We come from behind in a tough game to lead before Flamini scores a last minute own goal.

2014/15 - After playing dreadfully away at Pool for the whole game we somehow lead 2-1 when Borini is sent off after 92 minutes. With one last corner to defend we give Skrtel the freedom of the penalty box to head a 97th minute equalizer.

2015/16 - again away at Pool we lead 3-2 after coming from behind twice in the 90th minute. We let Joe Allen who's only scored 10 league goals his entire career pop up and equalise.

That is where the time has gone.

You poor soul. Want to borrow my avatar?

 

[BobP]

It's a little problematic but for the purpose of constructing this data, I'm going to classify bottling as drawing or losing after holding a winning position, regardless of the goal differentials. Some of our bottling has occurred when losing or drawing to teams we 'should' have beaten, but where we never held the lead. That data has been overlooked because it is entirely subjective to say we 'should' have won.

2005-2006:
English Premier League
WBA 2 - Arsenal 1
Portsmouth 1 - Arsenal 1

2006-2007:
English Premier League
Arsenal 1 - Chelsea 1
Tottenham 2 - Arsenal 2
Chelsea 1 - Arsenal 1

2007-2008:
English Premier League
Blackburn Rovers 1 - Arsenal 1
Arsenal 1 - Birmingham 1
Birmingham 2 - Arsenal 2
Chelsea 2 - Arsenal 1
Manchester United 2 - Arsenal 1
Champions League
Sevilla 3 - Arsenal 1
Arsenal 1 - Liverpool 1
Liverpool 4 - Arsenal 2

2008-2009:
English Premier League
Arsenal 1 - Hull City 2
Arsenal 4 - Tottenham 4
Middlesbrough 1 - Arsenal 1
Arsenal 1 - Liverpool 1
Aston Villa 2 - Arsenal 2
Liverpool 4 - Arsenal 4
FA Cup
Arsenal 1 - Chelsea 2

2009-2010:
English Premier League
Manchester United 2 - Arsenal 1
West Ham 2 - Arsenal 2
Burnley 1 - Arsenal 1
Birmingham 1 - Arsenal 1
Wigan Athletic 3 - Arsenal 2
Blackburn Rovers 2 - Arsenal 1
Champions League
AZ Alkmaar 1 - Arsenal 1

2010-2011:
English Premier League
Sunderland 1 - Arsenal 1
Arsenal 2 - Tottenham 3
Wigan Athletic 2 - Arsenal 2
Newcastle United 4 - Arsenal 4
Arsenal 1 - Liverpool 1
Tottenham 3 - Arsenal 3
Champions League
Shakhtar Donetsk 2 - Arsenal 1
FA Cup
Leyton Orient 1 - Arsenal 1

2011-2012
English Premier League
Blackburn Rovers 4 - Arsenal 3
Arsenal 1 - Wolverhampton Wanderers 1
Fulham 2 - Arsenal 1
Swansea 3 - Arsenal 2
Arsenal 3 - Norwich 3
Champions League
Borussia Dortmund 1 - Arsenal 1

2012-2013
English Premier League
Arsenal 3 - Fulham 3
Everton 1 - Arsenal 1
Arsenal 1 - Manchester United 1
Champions League
Schalke 2 - Arsenal 2
Olympiakos 2 - Arsenal 1

2013-2014
English Premier League
Arsenal 1 - Aston Villa 3
Arsenal 1 - Everton 1
Arsenal 2 - Swansea City 2

2014-2015
English Premier League
Leicester City 1 - Arsenal 1
Arsenal 2 - Manchester City 2
Arsenal 2 - Hull City 2
Swansea City 2 - Arsenal 1
Liverpool 2 - Arsenal 2
Tottenham 2 Arsenal 1
Champions League
Arsenal 3 - Anderlecht 3
League Cup
Arsenal 1 - Southampton 2

2015-2016
English Premier League
WBA 2 - Arsenal 1
Norwich City 1 - Arsenal 1
Liverpool 3 - Arsenal 3
Arsenal 1 - Swansea City 2
Tottenham 2 - Arsenal 2
West Ham United 3 - Arsenal 3
Arsenal 1 - Crystal Palace 1

In the space of a decade we have bottled 64 games and counting, across all competitions.

 

[celestis]

You're overly sensitive to Arsenal criticism bro - they all get it. Wenger's been treated like a a Don by the media, up until now maybe. Arsenal are serial bottlers and the press are all over it. You see the **** LVG's had to go through or even Mourinho. Wenger's been treated with kids gloves all along - well the gloves are off now.

Arsenal are a club that's supposed to be winning the league - it's all been set up (apparently) to do so but Wenger made such a hash of it over the last few years blaming richer clubs etc. but that excuse has been blown out of the water now. The plain truth is that Arsenal haven't had the know how to win the league & our "once" great manager doesn't have a scooby anymore. No other "top" club has had so many chances to win the league, over the last decade without doing so- we're synonymous with bottling it now. At least 3-4 times we've been top come January/February and completely fallen apart - it happens all the time now - the press are onto that in a heartbeat. If you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen.

Come on man , Fair dues he should be getting flack but that's isn't even remotely true .

 

[Gooner n Proud]

You're overly sensitive to Arsenal criticism bro - they all get it. Wenger's been treated like a a Don by the media, up until now maybe. Arsenal are serial bottlers and the press are all over it. You see the **** LVG's had to go through or even Mourinho. Wenger's been treated with kids gloves all along - well the gloves are off now.

Arsenal are a club that's supposed to be winning the league - it's all been set up (apparently) to do so but Wenger made such a hash of it over the last few years blaming richer clubs etc. but that excuse has been blown out of the water now. The plain truth is that Arsenal haven't had the know how to win the league & our "once" great manager doesn't have a scooby anymore. No other "top" club has had so many chances to win the league, over the last decade without doing so- we're synonymous with bottling it now. At least 3-4 times we've been top come January/February and completely fallen apart - it happens all the time now - the press are onto that in a heartbeat. If you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen.

I'm not at all overly sensitive to the criticism its something that Ive picked up on since I was a young kid growing up in London actually, Arsenal always get slammed that bit more than the other clubs, Ashley Cole even said so in his biography. Obviously there are some sections that respect Wenger I admit however on the whole he's rarely let off lightly, especially when Arsenal lose, by fans or the media. When Arsenal win there minimal praise but when we dont Wenger and the team crucified top to bottom far more harshly compared to our rivals. Van Gaal gets stick too a lot more than he deserves in my opinion but I get the sense that the media want guys like he and Pellegrini out because they think them boring and dull compared to chumps like Mourinho who they'd rather see at United. Personally I think Van Gaal is very good for English football and like Wenger the country can learn a lot from his philosophy.

Arsène doesn't blame our lack of league triumphs on being financially weaker compared to our competitors anymore, that era was between 2005-2013 when the objectives weren't even to win the league, the fact we got so close during some of those years shows we exceeded expectations i.e. 2007-08.
From 2014 till now the teams been unable to sustain a title challenge for various reasons including Injuries & setbacks, tactical naivety from the coach and inconsistent team identity.
Its odd how the press are constantly on our case in a heartbeat whenever the team disappoint but Liverpool, are apparently a bigger club than us, seem to be let off the hook.

 

[bingobob]

Liverpool were slated under Rodgers effectively hounded out the door. Once the media turn they turn, Mourinho got it bit only because he stopped winning and became a joke toward the end. Much like Wenger. There is huge respect for what he done but the present and recent past is now longer than the distant past.

Here we are once again in a battle for top four. It's enough for some players who can't or won't get any better but players with aspirations won't put up with it for long.

 

[Bradpiff]

I'm not at all overly sensitive to the criticism its something that Ive picked up on since I was a young kid growing up in London actually, Arsenal always get slammed that bit more than the other clubs, Ashley Cole even said so in his biography. Obviously there are some sections that respect Wenger I admit however on the whole he's rarely let off lightly, especially when Arsenal lose, by fans or the media. When Arsenal win there minimal praise but when we dont Wenger and the team crucified top to bottom far more harshly compared to our rivals. Van Gaal gets stick too a lot more than he deserves in my opinion but I get the sense that the media want guys like he and Pellegrini out because they think them boring and dull compared to chumps like Mourinho who they'd rather see at United. Personally I think Van Gaal is very good for English football and like Wenger the country can learn a lot from his philosophy.

Arsène doesn't blame our lack of league triumphs on being financially weaker compared to our competitors anymore, that era was between 2005-2013 when the objectives weren't even to win the league, the fact we got so close during some of those years shows we exceeded expectations i.e. 2007-08.
From 2014 till now the teams been unable to sustain a title challenge for various reasons including Injuries & setbacks, tactical naivety from the coach and inconsistent team identity.
Its odd how the press are constantly on our case in a heartbeat whenever the team disappoint but Liverpool, are apparently a bigger club than us, seem to be let off the hook.

What you're saying every single football fan says woe is me the world is against us

 

[Mastadon]

I thought the media along with the refs, UEFA and FIFA were supposed to be anti Wenger and anti Arsenal all this while? Or have we realised that is just an excuse for our own failure?

 

[redanddread]

Couldn't have written it any better. This article sums it up for me - everything.
Arsène Wenger mustn’t become the hero who wouldn’t go
http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/...t-become-the-hero-who-wouldnt-go-393800.html?

@Voice of Flamini

 

[redanddread]

I'm not at all overly sensitive to the criticism its something that Ive picked up on since I was a young kid growing up in London actually, Arsenal always get slammed that bit more than the other clubs, Ashley Cole even said so in his biography. Obviously there are some sections that respect Wenger I admit however on the whole he's rarely let off lightly, especially when Arsenal lose, by fans or the media. When Arsenal win there minimal praise but when we dont Wenger and the team crucified top to bottom far more harshly compared to our rivals. Van Gaal gets stick too a lot more than he deserves in my opinion but I get the sense that the media want guys like he and Pellegrini out because they think them boring and dull compared to chumps like Mourinho who they'd rather see at United. Personally I think Van Gaal is very good for English football and like Wenger the country can learn a lot from his philosophy.

Arsène doesn't blame our lack of league triumphs on being financially weaker compared to our competitors anymore, that era was between 2005-2013 when the objectives weren't even to win the league, the fact we got so close during some of those years shows we exceeded expectations i.e. 2007-08.
From 2014 till now the teams been unable to sustain a title challenge for various reasons including Injuries & setbacks, tactical naivety from the coach and inconsistent team identity.
Its odd how the press are constantly on our case in a heartbeat whenever the team disappoint but Liverpool, are apparently a bigger club than us, seem to be let off the hook.

2007/8 was the ultimate bottle job - another season where we could have won so much (CL & EPL) and won ziltch. Anyone remember the CL 1/4 final against Liverpool 2-2 & going through with 5 mins to play and lose 4-2. Another situation where Arsenal flail to keep a lead and bottle it.

2013/14 on was full of hope according to Wenger, the financial restraints were off but we kept seeing the SAME OLD mistakes, the SAME OLD injury issues and the SAME OLD results, leading to the SAME OLD end of season position 3rd or 4th. We did win a couple of FA Cups but those successes have in no way been built on as can be seen by our decreasing end of season points tally in both years following our FA Cup triumphs.

The press are on our case because even they have had ENOUGH of the SAME OLD excuses.

Wenger's cried wolf one too many times and the press, contrary to your opinion, who have been extremely patient with him, have now given up the ghost.

"From 2014 till now the teams been unable to sustain a title challenge for various reasons including Injuries & setbacks, tactical naivety from the coach and inconsistent team identity."

You could add from 2005 till now.

Wenger's had enough time & enough $$ to put together a squad capable of challenging for the league title & the CL - he hasn't & can't. End of.

 

[redwhiteAustrian]

The Emirates years have been a succession of bottle jobs, interrupted by two almost accidental Cups.

 

[BobP]

If I can be bothered, I'll try and compare the rate of bottling in the last 10 years with the first 8 or 9 years of Wenger's reign.