What can Arsenal do to save our season?

What does Arsenal and Wenger need to do in order salvage our season by Vishaad Pillay

Well fellow Arsenal fans, I’m sure we are all disappointed and upset about the state of our club’ and the turmoil that it has been plunged into. Every one of us has conflicting feelings about Wenger’s tenure at Arsenal, some would still want him to stay and others feel he should have stepped down with dignity 5 years ago. Unfortunately Wenger does not care about the feelings of the masses of fans and is completely oblivious to how dangerously close this club is to becoming irrelevant in the Premier League. Wenger won’t accept advice from anybody with regards as to how this club needs to heal itsel f- so as fans what can we do to help?

Wenger stating in the post match conference that we fans need to stick by the team in these trying times, which I agree to a certain extent, but when a manager is so clueless that his team is falling apart and his 21year tenure as a manager lay in ruins due to pride then I have no sympathy or encouragement to extend. There were rumours yesterday of a bust up in the dressing room an hour before kick off, which would explain the lack of cohesion and lacklustre performance on the pitch to a degree.

So we have a manager that has lost the belief of certain players as he has given too much attention in satisfying the needs of a select few individuals who frankly don’t deserve it. Ozil, Sanchez, Xhaka and Ramsey seem to be the favoured players that will get away with murder in this squad without any repercussions .

So what do we need to do in order to salvage this season?  Wenger won’t leave and the Board wont get rid of him unfortunately.

 1. Address the problem in defence i.e. revert back to 4 2 3 1 or 4 3 2 1 .
     Purchase two  centre backs to galvanise the defence or give a chance to Chambers and Holding with Mertesacker and Koscielny for guidance (recipe for disaster)
     Sakho, Van Dijk, Evans or Tyrone Mings  ??? Or Kostas Manolas, Benadekt Howedes, Jerome Boateng or Koulibay?

2. Sort out the issue with no central midfielder to anchor the team. Ramsey and Xhaka love to play out of position which leaves us exposed in the counter attack. Renato Sanchez is available from Bayern. tough tackling defensive player who can pick a pass and knows how to maintain the team shape.

3 Change the toxic atmosphere in the dressing room and get rid of the complacency that has set in. Too many of our players aren’t held accountable for their mistakes. As stated by many ex Arsenal players Wenger would say something philosophical on the bus and not lay into the players or play the match again on the bus drive home to expose exactly who was at fault and show these bunch of prima donnas how pathetic they performed.

4 hange the tactics for each match by analysing your opponents and anticipating what their game plan would be as Liverpool did to us. Wenger and the team trained all week for a team that presses high with no time or space to play in, yet they did the opposite which led to the clueless Arsenal players left dumbfounded.

5 Get a psychiatrist to work with these fragile individuals to make them believe we can actually win titles as well as not to bottle it against the big teams.

Would that be enough to save our season?

Vishaad

38 Comments

    1. We should keep Perez and dump Welbeck instead. As for the rest of the guys you listed, nobody wants them because they suck.

      1. I agree with you. I also want the fans to support the team. Wenger should call Man City. Sell Sanchez to them in exchange for Fernandihno and cash. And go ahead to buy Draxler. Ozil to convince Draxler to come. Sell Welbeck, Wilshere, Chamberlain, Akpom, Debuchy,Campbell and Sanchez. We need Fernandihno from Man City to partner Xhaka. Ramsey to go back to the bench. Xhaka playing close to a very mobile DM. Xhaka playing long passes and dictating play from deep. Stick to the 343 system. Back three of Per Holding/Mustafi and Kos. Central midfield of Xhaka and Fernandihno and front three of Draxler Ozil and Lacazette. Wenger should have a talk with his team. Calm them down and be more ruthless.He should also keep Perez and apologize to him. We need people who are interested in playing for the team. We won 3 FA Cups in 4 years. It is key to believe in the team. Draxler and Fernandihno should come in.

        1. I agree with , Fernandinio is a better option from City as he is what we are lacking in our central midfield . I would also go for a swap deal with Bayern for Renato Sanchez , himself and Fernandinio in our midfield who be solid .

  1. We won’t win any special trophy as long as we have in our squad:
    ramsey, walcott, ox, welbeck, coquelin, chambers, gibbs…. useless players…. all they would fit perfectly in some mid table EPL team….
    It would be a great deal if we get 30m from ox, 10 from walcott, 10 from welbeck, 10 from ramsey, 2 for chambers . Let’s sell while we have some crazy clubs that pay for them……

    deadwood !

    1. Agree 100% with this. While they all have decent individual skill. None of them are worth anything especially Ox and Welbeck.

      1. I’m still surprised by Oxlade, he seemed to love it at Arsenal. Out of them all I thought he’d be the least agitated on moving. He would’ve been a good wing-back for Che, he’d take Moses position. At liv, does anyone think that that is where liv will play him, they got Keita, an excellent all round player, one of Africa’s finest. That leaves one position to fight for, and your man Henderson barely loses or misplaces a ball, good tackler too, Lallana can play there. I wonder if the reason Oxlade doesn’t want to sign for us is Alexis, I read he was one of the ones unhappy with Alexis, but he has one season left too. After the Bayern game players were unhappy with Alexis, and when Danny came on for Alexis in the last 11min after a full year out with injury, players did not like how Alexis reacted to it.

        1. The writing was on the wall my friend, since Wenger decided not to play him central. The one you should expect staying and not cause any trouble is Walcott, he’s going nowhere.

  2. At this moment of time its time we promote yougsters and play them. They will play with hunger and passion. We hve wasted alot of time and maybe we might get draxler but i dont see us getting vvd. Even draxler might not come so lets promote our youth. Its funny how we are in shambles this was the best time for another manager to rebuild but we will pay the price for allowing wenger to stay

    1. Play players in the right position as for transfers there’s no point unless wenger is willing to except that xhaka and ozil are failures and Ramsey ain’t a CM which would mean buying 2 CM’s then either drop ozil or play 4231 and put him at CAM role!
      U can’t play football without a midfield and arsenal dont have any in the squad and to think we could of had kante and bakayoko if Wenger had a brain but I’m seriously worried that arteta (xhaka) could get us into a relegation battle by giving the opposition the most assists in prem history

  3. Sell sanchez and get sterling from mancity,don’t sell perez, buy cdm, a defender and allow chamberlain to play CM till mid season,if he can’t sign we can let him go.

  4. Arsenal had been using 4-2-3-1 for more than a decade and we all know the results. The problem is not the formation, but the system Arsenal has been using.

    The tempo is still too fast. This leads to many mispasses and Arsenal lost many better chances because they always rush when in possession.

    A skillful playmaker and better players are needed to lower the tempo and control the game. Playing to dominate the possession like this requires more skillful players, otherwise they will get robbed a lot.

    But if Arsenal cannot play like that, due to their current players’ skills and the staffs’ knowledge, they had better switch to a fully pragmatic approach, like Mourinho and Simeone. Get players with excellent physical attributes (tall, strong and fast) and always look for a quick set-piece goal in the first half, then get ready for counter-attacks.

  5. 1. Go back to 4-3-3.
    2. If alexis wants 400K a week give him 400k a week.
    3. Start players in their actual position.
    4. Before the transfer window shuts break the bank and get a DM and CB

    1. The hell with the lot of them give them nothing thats all there worth atm. start paying by performance is the way things will go in future just watch let us be the first an dwe wouldnt have to pay out much the way some play atm…. dirty up all nights when in one weeks wages the team earn as much as probably the lot of us fans on this site x100 for what ….. ill say again dirty up all night …..

      1. I agree! I really don’t think we should just go ahead and “pay them whatever they want”. If Sanchez is greedy enough to demand 400k per week that no one in the league is earning then shiw him the door..let him go to China..we made Sanchez, it’s not Sanchez who made us. We rescued him from the bench at Barcelona.

  6. It amazes me when fans don’t see the main problem in ArsenalFC . The problem in Arsenal are not the players. No, no no,.I laugh when people list out names of players to be sold and I see current internationals and ex- internationals . Arsenal FC has very good players as attested to by Vierra .Now , what are the problems that we see in the team today , defense , mid field and attack that we have not identified 6-7 years ago? Players were judged not to be good enough . “We need new players ” was the sing song . Apart from Walcot who was the highest goal scoring winger in Europe last season, all players adjudged to be bad or not good enough have left .We have in our squad now internationals and ex- internationals , World Cup winners , continental cup winners but we are even worse off as we cannot challenge for the EPL title.We did not qualify for Champions League last season with the Stars we have.
    The problem in Arsenal is Mr. Wenger and the owner Kronke in that order. Wenger has been left behind in the mordern game! He cannot read matches, he cannot analyse the opponents before matches or micro manage matches if and when opponents change formations during matches .
    He is tactically rigid which is the result of tactical ineptitude. When Crystal Palace beat us 3:0 last season, Big Sam said they knew how Arsenal would play and they trained towards the formation . That’s why Watford beat Arsenal at the Emirates last season and the season before.
    Arsenal wanted to streghtened the team ,bought Lacazett and Kolasenic for free., but both were on the bench at Liverpool! .Last season , Sanchez his highest goal scorer was also left on the bench at Liverpool.
    I saw fans naming players that we should go for and I laugh. Which player wants to join a sinking ship? Who wants to play under a manager that picks players on sentiment and not on current form or demonstrated performance? Remember Lucas Perez who was only allowed 950 minutes of game time in all competitions but still scored 7goals with 6 assists. He has been frustrated out because he was not directly recruited by Wenger. Poldoski,and Joe Campbell suffered the same fate. Mustafi , a central defender for Germany is about to be sold after only one season !
    Wenger has nothing to offer anymore and Arsenal can only go down and down under him. He does not want to leave because he is “scared of retirement ” as he himself said early last season. Kronor will not or cannot sack him ,so we are stuck .It is sad.

    1. Bottom line is tactics its all tactics and Wenger hasnt a scoobie doo about them … be honest everyone WTF is he doing with some players ???? we all see it , its not hard even the dogs on the street know it …….. if he’d have played proper players in the right place then maybe some things may have been different but i doubt it would be much.
      Either hes an old softie been taken the P$$% by the players which i doubted until the weekend now im not so sure but still big changes are needed and it wont be long before we can see if its done …
      What do most teams do after things are not going well…. well first thing any good team will do is become hard to beat which with us lol forget about it …. its attack to defend with us with only 40% the team being told to defend the rest do what u want ..

      1. That’s what Mour does, he makes them very hard to defeat first off, then adds quality players to attacking positions. Koeman does the same thing, he organizes them and adds tough defenders, that’s his first thought. That is why I’d actually like Koeman, over Allegri for now, to take the Arsenal job before Usmanov takes his money to Eve and that’ll mean history for us. If we can get Koeman, I think his tactics would give us a much better shot than Wengers unbalanced tactics. He’d be signing higher quality players, and we know he likes powerful lads. He played in some of the finest teams with some great forward players, he might have a good mixture to find a balance that all Arsenal fans can appreciate. Let liv be the great entertainers, that only went so far for us. You need Sheik money to be a great entertainer and win the league these days.

    2. I have stopped Saying Wenger has to go because it won’t happen for now. We need a mobile DM. And when the window is almost closing, we should take advantage of Man City wanting Sanchez at all cost to get Fernandihno from them. He has EPL experience already. Ozil can convince Draxler to come. PSG will accept 49m pounds for Draxler. For those who read my comments on this platform, I have been consistent from the beginning of the Sumner for Wenger to sell Sanchez. Only a naive Manager will keep an unhappy player and loose him for free in the summer. Barca lost Neymar.Man United lost C Rinaldo. Emperor Wenger should do the right thing. Fernandihno and Draxler should come in as last minute buys

  7. The issue is not how to save the season.
    This season was ruined, when Wenger wasn’t sacked last year, when it became apparent, that we are a sinking ship with him as manager.
    The issue is, is there any way to avoid the disaster, we are heading for?
    We must get rid of Wenger, but is there any way, that will happen?

  8. I’d love to reply and thumb up all complaints its just to much Arsenal since 87 and ive never seen it so bad all you guys if i hadnt to check and see others feel the same id go mad thanks all and lets always support the Arsenal and do our best to help our team do its best no matter what.

    1. Meaning if manager has to go let him go and any players we are after all Arsenal if no fans theres no team dont forget that guys we are the blood of Arsenal every one of us.

      1. We all should move beyond Sacking Wenger. because it won’t happen. What can happen is to sign the right players. Chelsea lost to us last season. 3.0 at the Emirates. They also lost to Liverpool. But Conte fixed the problem and was bold enough to rectify it with tactics. Changing back to 343 at half time against us. Wenger should do the same.he should fix the mess. Silent Stan cannot sack Wenger right now.

        1. We can buy 5 or 10 new world class player, but it wouldn’t make us competitive. We have a manager with an outdated philosophy, who will make sure the players loose their skills. On top of that his mentality will turn the players and the team into loosers.
          The problem can only be fixed by getting rid of Wenger. It’s as simple as that.

  9. It really is worrying this time. We aren’t a top four team anymore, that looks certain. All this player unrest is making things too worrisome. Mustafi, what happened there, and who would have thought Oxlade would be so bloody sneaky. Alexis it looks like he’s gonna go, so the people who said this would happen and us with no time to replace him, they called it. The worst of all has been Wenger’s decision making, even for him it’s just too much. I’m hoping for some miracle to happen with the transfer window, but why should we expect to get all the players we need now, so late. I look at Liv’s business or at least the efforts they make, after one season in CL, why are we so inept so bloody often. What’s worse is Arsene will tell us things are fine soon enough, and our squad is one of the strongest.

  10. It’s just a dream. Won’t happen
    But I will play along anyway lol

    Assuming we get Sterling or Aguero in Alexis deal (apparently Sterling wants to come)

    Sign
    1. Sterling as replacement for OX
    2. Mahrez or Draxler or Aguero (if we get Aguero instead of Sterling) for Alexis
    3. Seri
    4. Goretzka, Krychowiak or Carvalho
    5. A good CB ie Koulibaly, Verane or Evans

    Example
    Cech
    Mustafi, Koscielny, Verane
    Sterling, Seri, Goretzka, Kolsanic
    Draxler, Ozil
    Lacazette (or Aguero if we get him)

    Sell
    Lucas
    Debuchy
    Jenkinson
    Gibbs
    Wilshere

    1. Lol that’s a solid team but it still, does not solve the problem at Arsenal . No matter who we bring in we still have a manager at the helm who has one game plan for over 20years .

      The harmony and the culture within the club needs to change. The complaceny and mediocrity which is a cancer eating away at the core of this club needs to be eradicated. Perhaps new training regimes , watching videos of your opponents prior to games and forming tactics interactively with the coaches . When a players performs poorly in 2 consecutive games DROP HIM , give opportunity to his stand in to instill hunger and a desire to perform at your best at ALL TIMES .

      These are the changes I want at this once great club

    2. Lol that’s a solid team but it still, does not solve the problem at Arsenal . No matter who we bring in we still have a manager at the helm who has one game plan for over 20years .

      The harmony and the culture within the club needs to change. The complaceny and mediocrity which is a cancer eating away at the core of this club needs to be eradicated. Perhaps new training regimes , watching videos of your opponents prior to games and forming tactics interactively with the coaches . When a players performs poorly in 2 consecutive games DROP HIM , give opportunity to his stand in to instill hunger and a desire to perform at your best at ALL TIMES .

      These are the changes I want at this once great club

  11. So sorry mate but there is nothing we can do to save our season. With Wenger in charge, there is no hope. That is quite clear after seeing the team he put out against Liverpool.

    He is in charge of the way we play, motivation and team selection and all these things are wrong. So you want to fix our season, get a new manager. Anyone will do right now. Even Big Sam would organize us better.

  12. Vijay, the formations of 4 or 3 at the back is not the problem in Arsenal FC. Remember that we were playing with back 4 last season when we lost to Mancity, Everton and Crystal Palace in a row. Wenger the changed to 3 at the back and we were winning matches . Watch Man U , Chelsea and Tottenham when defending . Last Saturday you sar Liverpool defensive formation. When we attacked slowly passing sideways and backwards unnecessarily, EVERYBODY ran back to defend not 3 or 4 defenders in at the back . That was why we did not record a single shot on target ! That is the sign of a team well trained ,physically and tactically . All the players must have high work rate which can only be achieved through intensive training. Wenger’s training is soft and not able to bring out the best in players, Thiery Henry, Vieira, Willaim Gallas who played under Wenger as captains and played under Mourinho and Pep Guadiola in case of Henry confirmed last season at different fora that training under Wenger was inferior to that of Mourinho or Guadiola.
    That’s it ! We were conceding loads of goals when we were playing “back four” as well as “back three ” so it’s the training and the way the team is set up that determines the outcome of matches We conceded 2 goals in the first half at Anfield with “back three” and conceded another 2 in the second half with ” back four” though it could have been more in both halves but for our goalkeeper’s alertness.
    Goals win matches but we recorded no single shot on target at Anfield! Arsenal’s problems are multifarious .Wenger has no clue on how to set up his team ,the best position for the good players I his squad and he is incapable of motivating his players to get results just to mention a few.
    He favors some players once he was the one that put telephone calls to them to the detriment of the team and team spirit.People who have no knowledge of psychology may not appreciate the incalculable damage this has done to the team . Bad performers do not see the need to improve since they are sure they will play anyway . Better players on the bench are aggrieved and they don’t see the need to train well or play well if picked reluctantly since they are aware that they would not play the next match.
    Good managers reward players for good performance but not Wenger . That a player even scored a hat trick does not mean you will play the next match.Poldoski and Lucas Perez were victims of Wenger on this. Mourinho used Matial as substitute in the first two matches and he scored in both . The third match last Saturday, Mourinho picked him to start while Rasford was benched . Reward for good performance ! Rasford came in as substitute in the third match and scored . Fair competition has started and the message has been sent to the entire squad in ManU.
    One can go on and on ,but it’s clear that results in matches are not accidental , management input is like sowing a seed like a farmer does , results on match days are the rewards for hardwork.m
    Wenger cannot change or improve .He is always blaming referees and players but not himself. He believes he is the best manager on planet earth . Supporters cannot do anything about the rot in Arsenal . The solution is for Wenger to step down or be yanked off that position of a manager.

  13. Wenger, to save our season, Please bring in:
    One top defender (Van D.)
    One top defensive midfielder. (In class of Casemero)
    One top winger, (Draxler as we are priced out of Lemar)

    And please keep

    Alexis Sanchez.

    Go back to that formation that suites our stylenof play(4 2 3 1).
    Cech

    Bellerin Kochieny New top CB. Kolascnic

    Xhaka. New top DM

    J Draxler M Ozil. Alexis Sanchez

    Lacazette..

    Sub: Ospina, Holding, iwobi, Ramsey, coequlin, Giroud, welbeck, Neiss, Monreal, Chambers, Walcott.

    Then this season is safe

  14. 1. Close some reasonable deals to give us a remote chance at competing. No hesitation or haggling, just pull the trigger.
    2. Immediately after close of transfer window, resign. It’s your last chance at dignity, you can point to the needs of the club and importance of a “new direction” and still salvage some good feeling from the memories of a time when something truly special happened under your watch. Stay in place, don’t close any deals, keep making team selections from outer space, and you will cement a new position as the laughingstock of the Premier League.

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