So what really made our season turn sour?

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So what really made our season turn sour?; Being brilliant, apparently.
Topic Started: Jun 26 2008, 07:12 PM (93 Views)
Little Fluffy Theo	Jun 26 2008, 07:12 PM Post #1
Mrs Fabregas Posts: 2,166 Group: Co-Admin Member #2 Joined: January 6, 2008 Which team(s) do you support? Arsenal	This article talks about how Arsene Wenger reckons our season was unsettled by interest from other clubs following our heroics in Milan. Football365.com WENGER HIGHLIGHTS PRICE OF EURO EXPLOITS Arsene Wenger is in no doubt Arsenal's stunning Champions League win over AC Milan "unsettled" their season - because it alerted other teams to the wealth of talent in his squad. The Gunners boss is currently fulfilling media and sponsor commitments at the European Championships, and admits as such he has been able to maintain a "little distance" from all the speculation surrounding the future of some of his key men. Milan continue to be linked with a move for leading scorer Emmanuel Adebayor, while winger Alexander Hleb is reported to be on the wish list of several top European sides, including Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Wenger's young Gunners led the Barclays Premier League for much of the last campaign, and also impressed in Europe where they knocked holders Milan out in the San Siro in March. However, the French coach feels that victory came at a price - with agents then suddenly on red alert. "That game in Milan did us a lot of good, but also some bad," Wenger said in the July issue of the official Arsenal magazine. "Overall it was a convincing team performance and we gained a lot of credit all over the world through that game - but also maybe at that time a lot of clubs became interested in our players. "This game for me unsettled our season. "Many clubs do not work as well as we do, and do not give a chance to young players so they looked at the quality of team display in that game, and it attracted a lot of keen clubs. "Others teams and agents started to look at our players, releasing stories into the press, and it had a disturbing influence on us. "From then on there were always stories about better contracts on offer elsewhere and it could be said that it really disturbed inside the dressing room, but I think the team has learned to cope with it." Wenger feels his young squad will be much "stronger" from the experiences of last season. He said: "The psychological side is part of the learning process. "This is a young side, at the start of a cycle, and they have had to learn from all types of pressures - from the environment, from the press, from the games, and they will be stronger next year." Wenger has already moved to bolster his options for the new campaign following the capture of promising teenage Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey from under the noses of rivals Manchester United. A Ł13million move for Marseille's Samir Nasri is also expected to be completed shortly, going some way to offset the loss of combative midfielder Mathieu Flamini - who walked out to join AC Milan on a free transfer - while Wenger is also a keen admirer of Russian ace Andrei Arshavin. Wenger has, though, always maintained Adebayor, 24, is not for sale, despite the player's representative, Vincenzo Morabito, being confident a deal can be reached. He's got a point. Big clubs like Milan, Inter, Barca and Madrid (teams which have been guilty of unsettling players lately) sign players based on big names and big games, and that was certainly a big game. But you can't really complain about it, because they're not going to change their ways and we want to keep performing. Arsene Wenger "This is a young side, at the start of a cycle, and they have had to learn from all types of pressures - from the environment, from the press, from the games, and they will be stronger next year." Exactly. We need to learn how to deal with it better. We have a great squad with a lot of talent, but we need more mental strength. We need to get to a stage where we're not affected by other clubs trying to player-pinch. And when our players get knocked with serious injuries or there's some kind of bust-up, we need to just keep our heads down and get on with it. This is the only area I think where we showed our inexperience last season, but I'm confident we can learn from it. It was still a great game and I'm glad we won. It was an exhilarating experience as a fan.



plu178	Jun 26 2008, 07:18 PM Post #2
cesc's window cleaner Posts: 1,072 Group: Members Member #4 Joined: January 6, 2008 Which team(s) do you support? Arsenal	I agree with what he said. And I agree with you too Marnie. The players are young, and at first the fame that they get as well as the interest from other clubs, will get to their head.Many of them are still young, and getting so much interest is flattering. I just hate the fatc that these big clubs always sign on our fricking players. Leave them alone. Argh. And why can't our players realise that leaving Arsenal tends to lead to a less spectacular performance.



Kem	Jun 26 2008, 07:38 PM Post #3
Mrs Fabregas Posts: 3,019 Group: Global Moderators Member #15 Joined: January 7, 2008 Which team(s) do you support? Arsenal. Roma. Usa & Italia	Ehhh that might be some of it, but we had already started drawing in the league before we played Milan. I still think that match against Birmingham was what ended up doing us in. It just brought all our weaknesses out.



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