From Tom : Wenger playing the wrong game
Is this current malaise, and the similar events over the last five seasons, all down to Wenger playing the wrong game?
It seems he is trying to coach a style of football that he admires but cannot execute.
Wenger coaches athletes, not technicians. Bar Fabregas, all his most successful and consistently effective players have been over six foot with fast 100m times, (even the sublime Pires).
He can coach forceful, aggressive counter-attacking play better than anyone in the sport. Every team he has developed anywere in his career deploys these traits. Was it the habitual losses to technically superior Spanish sides that turned his head (Deportivo 2001/2002 springs to mind in particular)?
It’s as though he saw that style of play as where success in football was heading – and he’s tried to join the parade. He’s been proved to be correct (Spain, Barcelona etc.), it’s just he cannot coach it.
From Chris Akanbi : Song’s “improvement”
I too noticed Song’s three attempts to control a bouncing ball.
I had to laugh to myself when I read your article and then went to the Arsenal website and saw the following story: “Song – Hard work key to my improvement.”
To be fair to him, he improved a lot last year as a holding midfielder, but has gone backwards this year. I have no idea why he’s being encouraged to get forward more. The back 4 are already too exposed. Where’s the logic?!
What is particularly worrying is the number of players who aren’t as good as they were: Fabregas, Song, Clichy, Sagna, Arshavin, Vela, Eboue. All players going backwards.
Where are the signs of improvement? Nasri… struggling to think of anyone else.
From Andrew McBrinn : Arsenal’s home support
Hi Myles,
Loving the blog, as I have for many, many years.
I travel occasionally to the Emirates from N.Ireland and am disgusted by the lack of support for the team at home games.
Embarrassing really. Something needs to happen here… When I shout and sing I attract the usual desirory looks from the fans around me. Something’s very wrong with this.
Maybe if we were more vociferous, it would add an extra 5% or 10%. People respond to praise and support, not negative critcism. Even vastly overpaid Premier League primadonnas.
Normally it is like being at the theatre or the ballet at the Emirates, when we swot other teams away a la Braga or Blackpool. However, vs West Brom and Newcastle, the crowd was needed and they, like the team, failed to turn up.
Come on Arsenal…that’s all we need to say. Bit of encouragement, you never know. Let’s face it, it’s the only thing we as fans have any control over and we don’t do it.
Let’s create an Emirates fortress – it’s in our power.
Cheers, Myles, and keep up the great blog.
From Pål Dugstad : Arsene Wenger
Dear Myles,
I wonder how many times you have written that:
“Wenger rewards failure and mediocrity. He keeps telling ordinary players that they`re good.”
I don’t mind you repeating that because it is so true. I makes me think of what Wenger is good at, and not good at.
Let me first say what I think Wenger is clearly good at:
He is good at charming new players.
A good economist. Living within your means, and he was correct of course in creating and moving to a bigger stadium.
I think he is well updated when it comes to the importance of good nutrition.
But I do not think he is up to the mark when it comes to training methods, and certainly not when it comes to defending.
He could do well by listening to a certain ex-Chelsea manager in that respect, but that is of course only wishful thinking. It will never happen. Wenger is completely stuck with his way of playing that is only OK with better players than he has today.
Wenger has bought way too many average players for me to trust his evaluation of talent.
Would Wenger had won anything with Arsenal if he had not inherited a good back four? I doubt that. List up how many great players Wenger has bought, how many good players he has bought, and how many average players he has bought.
Imagine if Juventus had understood that Henry should not play as a winger, but as forward because for all his speed he was not a dribbler? Juventus would probably not have sold Henry to Arsenal then, or the price tag on Henry could have been out of Arsenal`s reach. So you think how much luck Arsene had when he got hold of great players like Henry,Viera and Pires?
I was at Stamford Bridge and watched Chelsea beat Arsenal 2-0 which was not surprising of course. Arsenal could have been lucky by taking a 2-0 lead.
I counted four chances for Arsenal in the first half, and four chances for Chelsea of which they scored one as you know. In the first half I always had the feeling that Chelsea would take over once Arsenal did not manage to have so much ball possession .Because with Arsenal`s defence, keeping the ball is their best way of defending. Wenger knows that of course, and that is it…
Arsenal had a winning culture in the early years under Wenger, but now they only have a nanny culture. Only Chelsea and Man U have a true winning culture now. Liverpool used to have it.
How many faults must Fabiansky make before Wenger has the courage to give Szcezny a chance to play a string of matches?
Szcesny is the only goal keeper Arsenal have that have a commanding presence on the field. If Szczesny leaves Arsenal next year without having got a chance to play for Arsenal`s first team, Wenger is all to blame, and then he deserves to buy a new keeper from out his own pocket. Not that I believe Szczesny is the finished article at his age, but from what I have seen, he is clearly the best keeper Arsenal have, and I think he can become a top keeper. Wenger should come to remember that potentially great players tend to develop quicker than you expect when put under pressure.
But Wenger forgets that in his nanny culture. Players with fragile egos rarely become great players.
Yes, I would like to have a certain ex-Chelsea manager taking over Arsenal, but I think he will probably take over Manchester United if he wants to.
What do you think, Myles?
From Xavier : Worst season ever
I knew at the start of the season that this would be our worst under Wenger but a couple of misleading results had me panicking. Why do I think it will be a bad season?
Strike force is not balanced. All too similar, tall, rangy players with no power. We play a lone striker system yet don’t have that type of striker. Chamakh is a sixth midfielder, he lacks a striker’s instinct, he looks for the pass rather than the finish. The only balls he attacks are the ones in the air. When Wenger subs a midfielder for a striker, he isn’t bringing on more power, he is merely bringing in a striker to play the wing which is not his strength.
Midfield has too many similar players, short, nimble, quick. They basically all do the same thing or have their strengths in the same department, not much variation.
Defenders. Squillaci and Koscielny are a joke if you have aspirations in the Premiership. Too lightweight, not dominant enough. Our wingbacks have no competition. Djourou is not qulaity enough for a top four team.
The team is so unbalanced it’s unbelieveable.
Wenger needs to start to buy functionally and not aesthetically. What we need at times is strength, at times battle, at times, intelligence, at times a desire to win. So many attributes are ignored as long as the players are skilful. You end up with an unbalanced team with too many similar players.
We effectively only have 3 types of players, tall strikers, short midfielders (including our fullbacks) and lightweight centrebacks. Wenger put them all together, he’s to blame.
Still believe it will be our worst season under Wenger. Recent allegations in his private life prove his empire is cracking.
From Michael Gillon : Newcastle Game
Well here is one post the anti-Arsenal Myles won’t print, but here goes anyway.
Sure, we played crap against Newcastle. Newcastle are a team of big men who played well defensively on the day.
Sure Wilshere was the the best player on the field and should not have been subbed. Sure Fabregas was awful and I suppose Wenger was waiting for that one piece of magic that he can produce. Sure Song thinks because he has scored a couple he is now the creative midfielder.
Somebody needs to tell Chamakh he is supposed to be a striker and therefore when in front of goal a shot rather than an attempted pass would be ideal. Sure somebody needs to tell the fullbacks that a cross into the goalkeepers arms every time is not what is required. Or crosses into the box when the defenders are 2 foot taller than the attackers. Maybe a low cross might be a change. Do we need a goalkeeper, how about trying Wojciech Szczesny, he seems like a monster, try him before we lose him.
Arsene Wenger created this team and with it some of the most creative footballers in the Premier League. They excite, they disappoint, but they get me up in Australia at ungodly hours and they often play football unknown on this planet.
Who the hell else am I going to support? Bolton? Chelsea? Hey, maybe Barcelona but aren’t they having a few problems lately?
Oh well I’ll just support Blackburn snoooooooze.
From Joel in Iowa : Arsenal-Newcastle
For me the game would have been completely different had Krul not done brilliantly to save Nasri’s shot in the first half. Arsenal dominated the first half. They put Newcastle under a lot of pressure and created some good chances, despite a poor game from the center forward Chamakh. The best of these chances fell to Nasri, who shot well at the top corner, but Krul did really well to get across and save. Minutes later, at the end of the half, Newcastle scored with their first shot on goal.
With the lead in the second half, Newcastle was allowed to defend very deep and put all 11 behind the ball. Newcastle’s center-forwards, Carroll and Ameobi, were stronger than Arsenal’s midfield and Arsenal really struggled to break them down. A major weakness of the team is that the midfield can get pushed around quite easily, especially by the likes of Newcastle. As frustrating as he can be, we could have used Diaby Sunday.
Wenger does deserve some of the blame. Subbing in van Persie was a mistake, subbing out Wilshere was wrong too, and the squad switched to a 4-4-2 far too late after it became clear the 4-5-1 would never break Newcastle down. But I do think Wenger got it right. The team dominated the first half and should have scored the first goal. Fabianski had been playing very well recently and should not have been benched.
Give Newcastle credit as well. They were terrific.
Tiote, Barton, Carroll, Coloccini, Williamson, Simpson, Enrique, Krul, and Gutierrez all played well. Few teams have been able to stifle Arsenal’s passing attack like that in recent years. Hopefully they won’t let Wolves in on their secret.