Posts
Be it the 1-1 draw at home last season, in which the Swans were gifted a point thanks to a last minute Gunners OG; or the 0-2 defeat, also at home, which, as I've written previously, represented a personal nadir in the bleary 2012-13 season; or even the 3-2 loss at their place the season before which was just crap.
I disagree with those who say that faith in the manager is at 'an all time low'. Think of Villa last year and the toxic abuse launched at Wenger like puss out of a freshly popped pimple. Think of the 8-2. In spite of this, there is a palpable sense listlessness around the club, with the prospects for this season having been reduced from a genuine and sustained effort to win all four major competitions, to watching Alexis Sanchez in wonder and accepting a set of disappointingly mixed results. The disenchantment, never far from the surface at Arsenal, is present also.
I write, of course, in the aftermath of one of our most demoralising losses of recent times, definitely the worst of this draw-heavy season. This loss was a seemingly perfect storm, managing to highlight with impressive efficiency just about every flaw present at the club right now. You don't really need me to list them, but, for the sake of putting it all on the table, the reasons for the loss were, in no particular order:
- A complete lack of form throughout the spine of the team. Think Santi, Rambo, Per, MatFlam. And yes, I've resorted to using nicknames (some of them made up) to soften the blow as I point out that half of our team are playing like Eboues.
- Players playing out of position. That's three of the back four don'tcha know.
- Injuries to key players at key times.
- Inconceivable collective naivety from a team who should know better coached by England's longest serving manager.
- A lack of quality in certain areas compounded by not sourcing players of adequate quality when they were available.
- Baffling substitutions from the boss in lieu of his alienation of the fringe players. Poldi. Rosicky. Campbell.
- A tactical system which, since it's introduction at the start of the season, has brought three, perhaps four, genuinely dominant and successful displays.
- Hugh Jackman (One for all you Scrubs fans out there. Anyone?)
In about September, I theorised that there were two potential reasons for our lukewarm start to the season. The first was that the manager genuinely didn't know what he was doing, that he was blinded by stubbornness to such an extent that he wasn't making the necessary changes to get the best out of the team (changes that, for the record, we could all point out to him e.g. Ozil wide.).
The second reason was that some sort of master plan existed. There had to be some solid reasoning behind the change of tact from last season. We didn't see the match preparation, the video analysis, the gym work, the recovery sessions or any of the factors which actually effect team performance on match day. The idea was that Wenger had changed something significant here and, despite the early bumps, had confidence enough to persist with the system, safe in the knowledge that the work behind the scenes would ensure it's eventual success. Results would pick up, discipline would improve, injuries would become less frequent.
Being an optimist, I was inclined to believe in option two. But results have continued to be uninspiring and whether I was right in the first place has kind of lost all significance. When a ship is sinking, you don't keep heading towards the rocks. You do what is required to put things right. It's the same with Arsenal. What were doing is not working. That's clear to see. So why would we continue with the same system and players who put things wrong in the first place? There comes a point where swallowing pride and acting to correct a worrying trend should take preference over proving that a currently detrimental system can work.
And it's not as if this is overly reactionary. Our results this season read WWDDWDDLWLDWLDWWWDL. Never more than three wins in a row. Never more than four games between draws. That's not poor form. That's a sustained run highlighting something that isn't working, something that needs changing.
The good we know Wenger can and will change a system at the drop of a hat. Losing at Spurs was the catalyst for a change in system that took effect in the very next game and lasted the best part of a year. Although I struggle to see him dropping players he trusts, however bad their form is, the hope is that the boss will do something similar again and correct our system of play.
Because in fairness, we're not underachieving in a massive way, a la Dortmund. With our strongest side available and everyone acting at maximum capacity, I think we could beat any team on a given day (count the exceptions on one hand). The current apathy stems not from how far away we are from meeting our goals, but how near. In Alexis we have an elite player. Around him there is a mixture of established talent and potential just waiting to be realised. We won't touch Chelsea for the League from the position we are in but I think it quite realistic that, with sensible management and execution, we could establish ourselves as their closest rivals.
Arsene is a smart guy and if he put his mind to it, he could formulate a way to organise our side more effectively than he currently is. So while he has been telling Ramsey to go back to basics in recent weeks, perhaps he should consider taking some of his own advice.
And it's not as if this is overly reactionary. Our results this season read WWDDWDDLWLDWLDWWWDL. Never more than three wins in a row. Never more than four games between draws. That's not poor form. That's a sustained run highlighting something that isn't working, something that needs changing.
The good we know Wenger can and will change a system at the drop of a hat. Losing at Spurs was the catalyst for a change in system that took effect in the very next game and lasted the best part of a year. Although I struggle to see him dropping players he trusts, however bad their form is, the hope is that the boss will do something similar again and correct our system of play.
Because in fairness, we're not underachieving in a massive way, a la Dortmund. With our strongest side available and everyone acting at maximum capacity, I think we could beat any team on a given day (count the exceptions on one hand). The current apathy stems not from how far away we are from meeting our goals, but how near. In Alexis we have an elite player. Around him there is a mixture of established talent and potential just waiting to be realised. We won't touch Chelsea for the League from the position we are in but I think it quite realistic that, with sensible management and execution, we could establish ourselves as their closest rivals.
Arsene is a smart guy and if he put his mind to it, he could formulate a way to organise our side more effectively than he currently is. So while he has been telling Ramsey to go back to basics in recent weeks, perhaps he should consider taking some of his own advice.
