I’m not really but I think the team we go into next season with will be better than the team we went into last season with and 75 points is a decent total so I see no reason we can’t at least match it, but it sounds like people are expecting us to be worse when it seemed like people were convinced Wenger had stumbled onto something very good with the formation change. It seemed like people were happy with 9 of our first choice 11 players in that system and we’ve bought someone for one of those positions but still people don’t have any belief.
It feels to me that the pessimism about this season (assuming Alexis and Ozil are made to stay which I’m believing more every day) boils down to mainly that Lacazette might not be good, and I’m in the camp that thinks he will be a hit
They both won the title off the back of having new managers, fresh ideas and also no European football (Thursday night being the real killer). Plus Leicester was an exception rather than the rule.
If Lacazette turns out to be an amazing striker we can improve our points total I think. I’m not overly convinced by our new formation either but I’m not ruling out the possibility of us being champions.
I can’t understand why anybody thinks we’ll finish behind Liverpool, who beat us by only one point despite not having to deal with European football and who haven’t strengthened much over the summer.
One of United, Chelsea, or Spurs will see everything go wrong for them and implode.
We’ll do enough for fourth. And Wenger will declare it a success.
Then our best two players will leave for free and we’ll be fucked.
I know, simply making it clear that there is scope for us to achieve higher than last season just as there is scope for us to achieve less.
New managers may be a factor but certainly isn’t a pre-requisite (the rule is actually managers, like players need a season to adjust), 3 at the back seems to be the shake up we needed, we have a phenominal front line, excellent depth and our business is by no means done.
It could be anywhere in the 3rd to 6th range but to be at the higher end of the spectrum we would need a great Injury run lol, given how thin we are in central midfield. When Ramsey has his inevitable form drop/ soft tissue problems we will have Coq and or Elneny logging serious minutes and we will look rather dire.
Europa League I think we will go very deep and possibly win it as long as Wenger treats it with respect and sees it as a golden ticket back to the Champions League, squad wise we are arguably the most talented team in the competition.
I’d be in the optimist camp if I believed this as well. Problem is that I think Arsenal are now in a reactive mode with the rest of the window–if a quality player becomes available late that is surplus, Arsenal might make a bid.
Being proactive would have been shipping out some players already even if we take less (i.e. Gibbs, Perez) and getting the midfielder(s) sorely needed.
Instead, I see the team a player or two short again and 3rd/4th about the ceiling.
Good. Kolasinac looks great. Once Lacazette settles in he’ll be great. Alexis is staying and the squad will be more settled this season now Wenger’s future is sorted. It’s a bright future.
As ever we are behind the curve, every other club spending money left right and centre, £50 million is a standard fee now so why have we not strengthened with a couple of really world class players?
Prediction: get spanked by the top 4 lose to the Spurs, get beat by WBA Palace Watford and struggle to finish 5th
Starting from there If we do a fair bit better I will be happy enough
But the big question is will that be enough again with Liverpool and Spurs taking it to the next level? I do think there’s a high probability we will end up in that range again.
I think in the minds of the people at the club Champions League qualification will be the main target. Which can be achieved in two possible ways for us. One, seemingly, being quite easier than the other…
but I think the team we go into next season with will be better than the team we went into last season with and 75 points is a decent total so I see no reason we can’t at least match it, but it sounds like people are expecting us to be worse when it seemed like people were convinced Wenger had stumbled onto something very good with the formation change. It seemed like people were happy with 9 of our first choice 11 players in that system and we’ve bought someone for one of those positions but still people don’t have any belief.