On Saturday, when Arsenal played Aston Villa, the whole crowd sagged after 70 minutes when a Gael Clichy own-goal went in. Agbonlahor scored again ten minutes later and thousands headed for the exits.
But many were still there when Theo Walcott, the choirboy winger, made a solo lap of dishonour, applauding the fans. He is, undeniably, a nice kid.
Many supporters think the season is over. They don’t think this team can win anything. Arsenal have lost four league games already and if they go on playing like this they could lose 10 or 12. So Arsenal are a cup team now. But when did they last win a cup? When they had Patrick Vieira.
Last summer people who had never doubted Wenger before began to be disillusioned. Now they doubt him even more. They don’t see where this team can improve, don’t think it can improve collectively as the season goes on. Results are patchy, the squad lacks size, power. experience. The team is lightweight on the field, and the club is lightweight off the field, lacking executive muscle, still without a CEO
They look at what Arsene Wenger has done, and what he says, and they scratch their heads in disbelief. Some are just turned off completely. They say they can’t listen to his garbage any more because his actions and words say :
1. I don’t need a good goalkeeper
2. I don’t need a big centreback
3. I don’t need another ballwinner like Flamini
4. I don’t need advice from ex -Arsenal players who say that if I bought three 27-year old players I could win everything.
And 5 : The biggest fallacy: I can’t buy experienced players because it will kill the kids.
That is rubbish.
It won’t kill the kids. The only way it could kill the kids is if London Colney is a kindergarten where fit young millionaires burst into tears every time they snap a bootlace. At other clubs, signing older players doesn’t kill the kids. The kids have to compete with other players to get into the team. That’s what it’s all about. Competition makes them stronger. Other clubs use kids AND experienced players. What is Man United’s Danny Welbeck if not a kid? He is a 17-year old striker born in Manchester to Ghanaian parents. If Frazier Campbell was there, Campbell would have come on. But he’s 19 and on loan at Spurs, so Welbeck came on for Ji-Sung Park in 63 minutes.United were beating Stoke 3-0 and he smashed in a shot for 4-0 and he’s there to see Cristiano make it 5-0.
That’s the way to beat Stoke. With big men, with a six foot four centreback to nullify Delap’s long throws, with passion, and with six foot one inch kids coming on to add momentum.
Why play 4-5-1 at home to Aston Villa?
Bendtner has been feeble in the last three games but he should not be played up front on his own, which does him no favours. He’s not fast, so he had a nightmare and was booed off the field when he was substituted. That’s not developing young players. That’s humiliating young players.
Did he play 4-5-1 because RVP is suspended and Eduardo isn’t ready and Ade can’t do 90 minutes yet? Or did he play 4-5-1 because young Denilson isn’t Flamini or Gilberto, so they needed an extra man in midfield?
If you play 4-5-1, you pass the ball sideways a lot and if you play 4-5-1 with a slow striker you pass it sideways for the whole 90 minutes. So they passed it sideways all day long and had 68% possession and lost 2-0.
In 1998, Arsenal passed the ball forward faster and earlier than any team in history but in 2008 they’re playing in front of defences, without much movement into the box, not even the kind of movement than can convert to Walcott’s low crosses. Which are, admittedly, erratic.
Crucially, Fabregas can see a defence-splitting pass but there was nobody to make a run for his passes. Against Villa, their possession brought the ball into wide areas and then they crossed it against three big centrebacks, one of whom was playing at right back. That is suicidal. If you do that, you deserve to lose.
Why put Bendtner against three experienced centrebacks ?
Carlos Cuellar is six foot three, Martin Laursen is six foot two, and Curtis Davies is six foot two.Why not start Adebayor and Bendtner? Why not stick in Jay Simpson, who scored two goals against Wigan. Simpson can make runs down the middle and score like Ian Wright, his hero, like Agbonlahor did for 2-0. If Fraizier Campbell can start for Spurs, why can’t Jay Simpson start for Arsenal? He would have played with passion, made runs for Fabregas, and shaken Villa up a bit.
In sum, Wenger’s selection was unimaginative and gutless, so it was no wonder Arsenal never looked like beating Aston Villa, who have never lost at the Emirates, and never will as long as he continues to pursue failing policies. The biggest surprise of last Saturday wasn’t that Arsenal lost 2-0. It was that they weren’t 3-0 down at half-time.
Playing like this, Arsenal could lose 10 out of 38 games. Playing like this they will lose at Man City on the 22nd and lose at Chelsea on the 30th. That will be six defeats before December has started.
Cesc Fabregas is Arsenal’s best player, their strongest character, their most intelligent leader. He really misses his three best mates, Flamini, Senderos and Hleb, on and off the field. He deserves better players around him. He wanted David Villa and Xabi Alonso. On Saturday he went to tackle Gareth Barry, missed the ball, kicked Barry, and got his fifth yellow card of the season, so he will miss the Manchester City game. Last season, Flamini would have made that tackle. And got the ball.
So Fabregas is suffering now and looks demoralised. It’s a situation that physio Gary Lewin saw coming, I’m sure. He was a key man for the players, a brother figure, a confessor, a keeper of secrets, a counsellor, a psychiatrist, a friend. Gary saw the writing on the wall and wanted out. Arsenal could have paid him a million but Gary couldn’t bear it any more. He knows a thing or two but it’s unlikely that Arsene would ever listen to him – or anybody.
So now the Arsenal team is in decline and their main man is on his knees and it’s painful to watch. He’s toiling, he’s gutted, he’s struggling in a team with mediocre strikers, and he’s being run into the ground, as Patrick Vieira was for two years after Wenger sold Petit. He doesn’t even look like Cesc Fabregas any more.