The media paint a picture of Arsenal being dark and doomy apart from the football we play. Everything else is just a shambles. Everywhere we turn it is Arsenal haven’t won a trophy for 6 years, Arsenal cannot defend, Arsenal need steel, Arsene Wenger will not spend, Arsene Wenger is a moaner

From nothing at all to talk about relating to the Arsenal and then Arsene Wenger walks into the press conference, numchucks in one pocket and a crowbar in the other.

Arsene Wenger was in no mood to play. The usually mild mannered Arsene was replaced by this fiery dismissive version that was about to stand in front of his players arms out wide and was saying ‘come on then! give it your best shot’ to the watching journos.

I absolutely loved every minute of it and have wished he had put a few of those journalists in their place before. It is not usually the Arsenal way. There has been more than one occasion that I have wanted Arsene to tell the journalists exactly how it is but instead we take the moral high ground and do not lower ourselves to correcting the endless nonsense.

I have often argued those thoughts in my own blogs but yesterday Wenger came out swinging.

I am not going to write all the quotes because I am sure many of you will have already read them. If you haven’t listened to it yet then I suggest you do and you do not base any opinions on the usual tripe written by journalists who twist everything Arsene Wenger says.

Anyone who is writing articles about Arsene being happy to finish second has clearly got an agenda. No sane person can seriously take what the hacks write as fact without checking the actual content, by content I mean real content.

The media paint a picture of Arsenal being dark and doomy apart from the football we play. Everything else is just a shambles. Everywhere we turn it is Arsenal haven’t won a trophy for 6 years, Arsenal cannot defend, Arsenal need steel, Arsene Wenger will not spend, Arsene Wenger is a moaner, Arsenal do not like it up em etc etc.

It is all a load of shit. How many pundits, journalists or ex players have praised Arsene and his squad for the work that has been done? Yet all our manager hears from all around him is negativity.

Why exactly should he listen to people who have not worked half a day in football? I totally agree.

Arsene was dismissive of Paul Merson saying that he had managed over 1500 games whilst Merson has done a bit less, subtle yet devastatingly deadly.

Why is our situation so awful when the likes of Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City are behind us having spent much more money?

‘But it is six years without a trophy, we want a trophy!’

That is usually the cry from supporters and why not? I bloody want a trophy, I want to brag to my Tottenham supporting friends that we won x amount of trophies. I want that feeling that I had when I heard the words ‘Adams put through by Bould.. would you believe it!’ of course I do. But am I entitled to it?

Are Arsenal the only club who demand trophies? How do Liverpool fans feel these days? A club that were by far the most successful side in England for years are now a shadow of their former selves. Why? Mismanagement and poor work in the transfer market. When have all the other teams minus Manchester United and Chelsea won the league?

What I find frustrating about all this opinion is that only managers get to know if their thoughts and actions actually work. Pundits and fans call for player x,y and z without having any knowledge of his situation, his availability, if he would fit into the system, if he has the right personality and ultimately if he would be a success. Yet said player would be the saviour of Arsenal football club. A fan can suggest 1000 players and be 100% correct in their minds because none of those players have failed at Arsenal simply because the transfer never happens.

The funny thing is that when these players go to other clubs and do not succeed then nothing is mentioned. Wasted transfer fees and wages get deleted from memory. Unlike at Anfield, Tottenham, West Ham, Newcastle, Aston Villa etc where the fees are very much a reality.

I am thinking of the likes of Gomes, Gareth Barry, Joleon Lescott, Alberto Aquilani, Richard Dunne, Niko Kranjcar,  Lee Cattermole etc etc etc.

And that is just players who played in the Premier League. Do a google search on these players along with Arsenal in the name and you find endless comments sections with supporters demanding these players.

In the meantime the media and a section of support are slamming Wenger for keeping hold of Almunia as 3rd choice. Presumably everyone would have been content with Arsene paying an extra £1-2 million and bringing in Mark Schwarzer thus prompting Wojciech Szczesny to turn down his contract offer in search of first team football elsewhere.

Had that of been the case then the press and support would have had a field day at Arsene’s expense.

Arsene is not infallible, he has his weak points as do every manager. Arsene makes errors, as do every manager. Arsene is not perfect as is the case with other managers but Arsene deserves credit for making us competitive at the fraction of the cost of the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and the media darlings Tottenham, who have had a fantastic season this season and have been a breath of fresh air. Arry’s boys have been thoroughly entertaining and offensive.

This is what we have been hearing from the Hacks on Sunday Supplement, the Match of the day team and Sky Sports. Yet we are above them in the table by six points having played a game less. We have scored 18 more goals than there fantastic attacking team and have conceded 5 less goals even though Tony Cascarino said that Tottenham have a better defence than we do. We beat them in the Carling cup, went further than them in the FA Cup. They were beaten 4-0 by a Real Madrid side who were hammered 5-0 by Barcelona, the team beat us 4-3 over two legs.

But when you are fed the same Arsenal in crisis stories then that is what many are going to believe.

I loved Wenger’s passion in his press conference and it has made me feel much better about tomorrow. I doubt very much that the players will go through the same motions as they did against Blackburn after knowing how the manager feels. They badly let him down last weekend, they let the fans down but hopefully a week on the training ground will allow us all to see the real Arsenal.

Personally I don’t think we will quite get there after drawing our last three games against teams we should have beaten. I think winning at Stoke, Tottenham and Manchester United at home as well as the rest of the games is a tall order.

But I would like to see everything being put onto the pitch from now on. From tomorrow until the end of the season.

Should I have any reason to think that we will improve next season? Yes I do. Jack Wilshere will not have to settle into his first full season. Laurent Koscielny and Sébastien Squillaci will not have to hit the ground running in a new country, in a new league. The same for Chamakh. Wojciech Szczesny will not be starting the season as a rookie keeper at this level. Thomas Vermaelen hopefully will be fit from the start, Johan Djourou will not have to be eased back into top level football.

All these reasons for me explain our inconsistent start of the season. Partly explain our defeats to West Brom, Tottenham and Newcastle. I expect Arsene to buy well as he often does and I expect a few players do be let go. I am sure some will see these as excuses but if you look at what it is then it is fact.

Supporters are asking for a few experienced heads in the squad. Arsene Wenger wants the right players. What exactly is experience? Jack Wilshere is the most inexperienced player in our squad yet he has been one of our best players. Do we need experience like Silvestre? Who has won title after title at the Mancs. How about Squillaci who has International experience and has played in La Liga at the top level?

We need top players and that is all. Players like Vermaelen, Sagna and Nasri are top players. We need strong characters. It does not matter if they are English, Welsh, French or from the Ivory Coast. We need committed, technical players who will improve our squad and I am sure our scouts as always have their eyes on many possible targets.

Anyway, I totally stand by the stance of our manager, I just hope his players repay his protectiveness on the pitch.