Why didn't we win at least one CL from 1998-2006?

[Maybe]

We had the team to win it, but instead of individual brilliance in crucial moments, we got individual mistakes.
Our best chance was when we lost to Chelsea because most of our players were at their peak.
In the finals (and throughout that year) we were heavily relying on Henry and the big guy had an off day. I still think Wenger didn't set up the team correctly leaving Reyes on the bench

 

[Oxeki]

I see some posters here claiming that you needed a great defense to win the CL. But IIRC, Campbell and Toure were the best CB pairing in Europe in 06.

The 06 final was just down to luck.

A Chelsea team getting outplayed for most the 11/12 campaign won it, while we that brushed aside our opponents in 06 failed to win remains a mystery to me

 

[Notorious Big]

I see some posters here claiming that you needed a great defense to win the CL. But IIRC, Campbell and Toure were the best CB pairing in Europe in 06.

The 06 final was just down to luck.

A Chelsea team getting outplayed for most the 11/12 campaign won it, while we that brushed aside our opponents in 06 failed to win remains a mystery to me

We had good players in defence,but our system and defending for long time was never Wenger's priority.We just depended on our offensive power and try to compete with top teams,which is always risky.Even Pep's Barcelona was sometimes undone by good defending.

Chelsea was very very lucky that season.It's just came back to them after good seasons and when they failed to win CL.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

We had good players in defence,but our system and defending for long time was never Wenger's priority.We just depended on our offensive power and try to compete with top teams,which is always risky.Even Pep's Barcelona was sometimes undone by good defending.

Chelsea was very very lucky that season.It's just came back to them after good seasons and when they failed to win CL.

You know we broke the clean sheet record in CL when we went to the final. Defense was a priority for sure.

 

[Notorious Big]

You know we broke the clean sheet record in CL when we went to the final. Defense was a priority for sure.

I wrote that on first page,that we changed our approach in games against Real,Juve and Villarreal in 2006.

But we didn't do that all the time in other seasons.

 

[say yes]

Four reasons for me (in no particular order):

1. Wenger struggled to adapt tactically. His 442 system, which could dominate in English football, was frequently put on the ropes (and outnumbered in the middle) by European teams using the 433.

2. We never had much squad depth. Wenger built amazing first XIs on a shoestring budget, but at the business end of the season our lack of depth hurt when we needed to rotate and injuries hit. Bergkamp not travelling wasn’t much of a help either.

3. Doesn’t matter how good you are: you need a lot of luck to win a CL. We never had that.

4. Jens Lehmann

 

[GDeep™]

It’s interesting, now you look back and ask why we didn’t win it or do better, but back then that wasn’t the narrative. Back then it was considered good going that we were just competing and those top teams were beyond us.

Getting big results in Europe was considered a big achievement and not expected.

Until then, we had no history in the European Cup, everything was new.

 

[Oxeki]

I wrote that on first page,that we changed our approach in games against Real,Juve and Villarreal in 2006.

But we didn't do that all the time in other seasons.

We didn't concede a single goal in the knockout stages till we got to the final

 

[GDeep™]

That Chelsea result was the one time where it felt like we truly came up short.

Think one year we got knocked out by Bayer Leverkusen, or maybe another German team, but they themselves had a great team that year.

 

[Oxeki]

Four reasons for me (in no particular order):

1. Wenger struggled to adapt tactically. His 442 system, which could dominate in English football, was frequently put on the ropes (and outnumbered in the middle) by European teams using the 433.

We dominated every European team we played that season bar barca

 

[Notorious Big]

We don't concede a single goal in the knockout stages till we got to the final

Yeah and we weren't that good in defence in seasons before 2006.

 

[GDeep™]

We don't concede a single goal in the knockout stages till we got to the final

Eboue was good that year, Flamini played well at LB, even Senderos played his part.

In the league though we were conceding for fun.

 

[Oxeki]

That Chelsea result was the one time where it felt like we truly came up short.

Think one year we got knocked out by Bayer Leverkusen, or maybe another German team, but they themselves had a great team that year.

That's what got me angry.
we kept getting knocked out by teams like Bayer and an average Chelsea team. That was the period we could have cemented our status as an elite.

Even a Liverpool team we were better than regularly did well in Europe

 

[Tir Na Nog]

Because Henry bottled it in Paris.

 

[Oxeki]

Eboue was good that year, Flamini played well at LB, even Senderos played his part.

In the league though we were conceding for fun.

Yeah. We were poor defensively in the league.

But in the CL, Wenger adapted the team better. We became hard to score against.

We had the best defense, we were one of the best team in the planet offensively.

That's why that campaign still hurts till today

 

[Riou]

Seeing some digs at the likes of Henry and Lehmann in here, from posters I respect...shame...

 

[Rex Stone]

 

[Riou]

So glad @Rex Banter has experienced pain with Atletico in Europe too, cause what he just did is too far.

 

[Get These Hands]

Europe at its weakest? Are you high? It was a lot more competitive back then.

 

[Flying Okapis]

Tactics, balls, big game players, struggling too adapt/travel around Europe, Bergkamp not flying, better quality opponents, 10 men in the final..

You could put it down too many things?