Sicario wrote:

But if we sacrifice FA cup and don't end up winning the league/CL (something which has not o cured for the last 12 years) then we good end up with nothing ?

We've only won the FA cup twice in the last ten years too. It's nice to have it around to repair some damage done to our season, but most seasons we end up with neither league, nor FA cup, nor CL. You can't bank on winning the lesser cup when it rarely ever happens anyway. It has proven to be a strain on a squad that is still way too thin in key areas.

I'd focus solely on the league if it were up to me. Champions League, the FA Cup and the league cup are just distractions, and the minute push comes to shove they need to have a lower priority. Win the league and build from there by adding to the squad. Make us increasingly better equipped to mount a challenge on multiple fronts.

I want to take the EFL seriously. Wenger has never won it and it could be the springboard we need in Feb.

Sicario wrote:

Mirth wrote:

Do we always bottle it around Feb/March? Going through the more recent seasons, it seems like we suffer from either a strong start or a strong finish.

2 out of the last three seasons we clearly bottled it around Feb/March. 2003, 2008, 2011 were some of the worst examples under Wenger of bottling around that period.

It's not a bottle job when a flawed team finds their flaws exposed as the games mount up. 2003 was a massive bottle job, as was the 2004 CL run, but for the rest of them? Not too sure. The quality of players wasn't that high to begin with (or the team was already stretched) and that's what needs to be addressed before we get into the psychology of the players.

Probably because we spend too much time nursing the "like a new signing" players back to fitness in this period as there are often no alternatives in the squad.

I don't think we are in a position to forfeit games, basically, in any of the big three comps. I want us to field strong teams in each of those competitions, but at the same time I don't want Wenger to take stupid risks with important players' health. There is also a psychological aspect here; if Wenger rests Özil and Alexis on CL Wednesday because we have a 12.45 Saturday kick off in the league, that sends a message to the squad I'm positive Wenger does NOT want to send. And, let's face it, CL and PL congestion is usually at the root cause for us dropping off.

Keep playing with a high tempo and use the jan tran effectively

We didn't have a good squad for rotation when fatigue and injury set in. Things has change we have ample cover everywhere on the pitch right know.

Too often Wenger has failed to get the team over the line with his over reliance on thin squads, predictable tactics and poor rotation. And then you have the other perrenial contributory factors like injuries, complacency and key players losing form when we need them the most. The left back position is a concern for me and whiles I think Monreal has done well, I don't think he can cope with the workload over a 38game season. How Wenger mitigates this will play a significant part in our season.

Not sure if the lack of depth reason is always true. There are various seasons we just seem to throw away all the good work we do when it comes to Feb and March. Last season comes to mind.

When you look back at our last 12 years, there's a good pattern to derive from. Seasons we start strongly and are contending for the title, we will throw it away in Feb/March/April. Seasons that we start meekly (even in the relegaiton zone in august), we tend to finish extremely strongly from February onwards. So it is not just about this period.

its always been a combination of a thin squad, inconsistency/immaturity, and poor preparation for big games. the thin squad problem is gone - it remains to be seen if the other 2 problems remain. hopefully to introduction of tougher characters like xhaka and mustafi will alleviate the mental problems, and keep competition for places high

Relying on sub standard players like Flamini and to a lesser extent Mertesacker and Arteta has also cost us dearly. Almost every season we've had at least one useless players who has ultimately exposed us. Against This season is the first in a long while the floor of the team has been raised to a decent level, especially in midfield. This squad wins the league last season.

I've always maintained that claiming we 'bottled it' is an incredibly lazy explanation for our failures that's twisted to fit every scenario.

Klaus wrote:

Get rid of the domestic cup burden as soon as possible. Make proper signings in January to give the squad a boost.

I felt so burdened when we won those 2 FA Cups recently. :hat:

Think we're far better prepped this year with some solid depth in almost every position. My concern is how this team will react to Giroud being reintroduced, and whether that may lead to a drop in performance. I'm skeptical Alexis will make it a full season as our starting CF and if he wavers/gets injured I don't see Walcott reclaiming the CF position.

Be interesting to see if Welbeck can (ever) come back and be more of an "one for one" replacement for Sanchez.

Also, I bring up this concern despite my belief that Giroud will be an important part of this season. I'm hopeful that him getting a proper early season rest will spare him a mid/late season lull.

bottling is a wenger characteristic so you can't prevent it as long as he's the manager.

Start killing off weak teams early on in matches so we can sub off key players like we did between 2002 and 2004, rather than overplaying them or having to rest them completely.