Arsene Wenger has come in for quite a lot of flak over the past few days as his Arsenal side’s title bid went off the rails in quite spectacular fashion. For many observers, Wenger lies right at the heart of everything that is wrong with Arsenal at the moment and several sections of the club’s support have been heard around the blogosphere calling for his head after their latest failing, yet I’d argue that they have the right man in charge, just the wrong philosophy at the moment.
It’s true, Wenger’s penchant for pig-headed stubbornness has at times been behind a lot of the team’s failings. His persistence in pursuing with certain players that are patently not up to the task of playing week in week out for a side challenging for the title has at times beggared belief. His point blank refusal to dip into the club’s considerable war chest is another considerable mark against him. His stubbornness remains the biggest obstacle to the club’s future success.
It appears that his success in the past with the club is saving any undue scrutiny and criticism over his failures in the present. But after the club’s latest unfathomable defeat when put under the cosh against Bolton, questions are seriously beginning to be asked of Wenger.
Every press conference is the same as the other at the moment with Wenger. He continues to talk of the ‘small details’ that haven’t gone his side’s way. He then goes onto praise the player’s mental strength when it has become abundantly clear time and time again that whenever put to the test, that this side is mentally fragile and Wenger’s routine defence of their attitude has become tiresome to say the least. This is not a side made of stern stuff.
Yet there is still a case for Wenger to be allowed to continue and well into the future, with a few provisions. The experiment in changing the club’s playing style after six trophy less years will have to go down as an unmitigated failure and a change of approach is now what’s required.
Patrick Vieira conceded in a column earlier on in the week that while a joy to watch at times, this current Arsenal side pales in comparison to the great side of the late 90s that he was a part of – he went onto add that the side that he played in had players that willing to put their heads in where he didn’t even dare to put his foot. It’s fair to say that with Wenger today conceding that “we don’t attack the ball enough, nobody’s commanding”, that what Arsenal lack most are players of real authority, capable of digging deep when the going gets rough.
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After the Bolton result, Wenger stated that “we still lack maturity, experience and calm in important situations” – three qualities that every man and his dog could have told you were lacking in the current Arsenal side at the very beginning of the season, or indeed any season in the last three of four years. The fact that the flaws have been so great and so obvious, but have yet to be addressed is a sad indictment of Wenger’s recent reign as manager.
The excuse that this squad is young and will make therefore invariably make mistakes is an infuriating one when there appears to be no end in sight and no sign of any actual progression in certain players knowledge of the game. The definition of stupidity is someone that carries on doing the same thing time and time again expecting a different result; it’s clear that certain players (Eboue, Diaby, Denilson, Almunia) simply aren’t capable of learning what’s required of them at this level and it’s time for the deadwood to be shifted on.
Quite when Wenger decided to sacrifice substance for style is beyond me, but there has been a clear difference in approach to the side’s which brought Wenger success and the one he currently oversees, and it hasn’t been for the better. The current Arsenal squad is one which likes to dominate possession, sometimes at the expense of any penetration. The Arsenal of old were a finely balanced mixture of technique, agression and swagger. They were a powerful, dominant machine that often bent their opponents will into submission; the current side possesses no such definable quality in this regard.
If there is one saving grace from the wreckage of a season that promised so much just a few short months ago, it’s that the penny appears to have finally dropped with Wenger. A dynamism and cutting edge needs to be allied to their passing game up top, and a steeliness at the back is vital going into next term. All the noises coming from the manager himself in the aftermath of the Bolton result are that investment is required, within reason. The recent quotes attributed to captain Cesc Fabregas would also point to a growing frustration within the club at the relative lack of progress the club is making both on the pitch and in search of trophies.
Wenger has since stated that “we have the quality, that is for sure. We have to strengthen the squad where it needs and make the right decision on that front.” Hardly the sounds of revolution, more of evolution; but that is exactly what Arsenal require now. For Arsenal to succeed under Wenger once more, something which they’re perfectly capable of doing with a change of tack, the club will have to revert back to the basics and the secrets of their initial success under the Frenchman’s guidance and banish the possession for possession’s sake mantra which has become their staple.
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