From Martin:
Morning Myles,
Really surprised Wenger said this as why set yourself up for the inevitable failure?!
Unless he believes it which is far more concerning.
2004
Lehmann – solid goalkeeper, driven
Lauren – Fierce competitor, driven
Campbell – Physical, mobile, driven
Toure –Mobile, driven (maybe more from puppy like enthusiasm)
Cole – talented, driven
Vieira – Physical, mobile, driven
Ljungberg – Brave, intuitive, driven
Pires – Played on another plane of football, that competitors were mere mortals, and had no need to be driven
Gilberto Silva – Invisible wall, efficient, no game too big
Bergkamp – Cerebral, technician, driven
Henry – Athletic powerhouse, with sublime technique, driven
Then add in the likes of Keown, Parlour, Edu, Wiltord and Reyes.
Imagine that dressing room, training sessions, it was self-motivating by personalities within the team
2017
Not going to list one by one, as not one member of this team can have the adjective driven against them, go to every player and see if can find that trait?
Sanchez had it, but it’s been slowly eroded from him, looks a forlorn figure at times as so exasperated with what is going on around him.
Sure they are all talented footballers, and there will be plenty of games where that talent will mesh, but without that driven element to win, it will always flatter and deceive, and its cultural, and it does come from the top, from player selection through to their moulding to the ethos,
Training sessions and dressing room imagine is a nice place to be, pretty sure it contrasts dramatically from the 2004 dressing room though.
Wenger bought a lot of the 2004 team, so why such a change in the model of success? Barcelona, and Spain turned his head, the plaudits they received? but those teams did have the smaller craftsmen, but again if look through them teams 1 by 1, driven to excellence, all of them,
The New England Patriots are in another Super Bowl this weekend, mainly as the coach and the QB are hugely driven personalities and will not accept less from anyone in the squad, it’s the culture that’s been maintained over many years, with them finding maybe less talented individuals, that are hugely driven, and so the sum is always better than the parts,
Present Arsenal players do sometimes respond, but it’s never from the mental toughness they are so quick to point to, but more out of shame usually, and so a few wins and its back to normal, as reality is there is not near enough driven personalities to ever stand at the top of anything. Talent gets you 4th and occasional cup, driven talent wins the big prizes.
If the dream that is sold is 4th and occasional cup that would be fine, when I started supporting Arsenal in 70’s top half and a cup was height of my aspiration and I was happy with that, you enjoyed the wins, and understood the losses, but Arsenal raised the bar with the fans and seem surprised fan the base not happy with what is being consistently produced,
Love to think the penny would drop, players would take a good look at selves and wonder what want to achieve from careers, but think the blueprint is set, many wins based on football talent alone, but ultimate falling short of what the great teams achieve,
Myles says:
Bullseye, Martin!
You’re right about Freddie and all of 2004.
Edu was underrated at the time and almost forgotten now.
Power players are bold and penetrate.They simplify the game and make it more exciting to watch.
Football remains a simple game but is one with many models.
The three principles of play remain: possession,support and penetration.
All coaching is a matter of….. emphasis.
Wenger’s possession style works well because of the fluency of their support running and their passing skills in the front third.
But the 2017 Arsenal is predictable in style and unreliable in too many games.