Congratulations from a “Wenger Out” supporter by AndersS
Yes, I admit it. I thought we were going to lose to Chelsea by a few goals, and I still think we will not come back to anywhere near winning the Premier League before we get a new manager. But I also think the performance against Chelsea was the most promising for years. For me it was the most promising since we won away at Man City 4-5 seasons ago.
Those of us who remember it will recall that back then we were already firmly established as “the eternal top 4 club”, which lost out in the direct matches against other top clubs, mainly because of tactical naivety and mental frailty. But suddenly, out of nowhere, against Man City we played completely different. We sat back, soaked up pressure, we fought for every ball and we hit them on the counterattack and won the game. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Unfortunately, after the match Cazorla came out and said that the players had got together and decided they couldn’t continue playing these kind of matches the usual way. So they had actually agreed amongst themselves to try the “new approach”.
This was of course a bad omen, because it showed the newfound success formula wasn’t a managerial decision, and soon it became apparent that in spite of the formula’s apparent success, it was not to be used again. Instead we continued with the same old tactics and all that changed was the losses gradually became bigger and bigger and more frequent. Eventually, many of us had had enough of Wenger.
For me the performance against Chelsea was a lot like that match against Man City 4-5 seasons ago. It was a revelation to see the whole team being well organized, when Chelsea had the ball and seeing all players fighting and showing they really wanted a result. I haven’t felt so good watching a game in a long time.
But I also think… It was so different from anything we have seen against top teams in the PL for many years, that you have to ask; “Why the sudden change and how can we continue doing it?”.
If this time it is a product of Arsene Wenger actually changing and adopting a new philosophy in these games, we will see it again against Everton and Man City, and I would actually believe we could get some useful results. If this happens, I will gladly admit, I have been too negative about AW, and I will also believe, we may be able to contend for the PL title.
But having the Man City experience 4-5 seasons ago in mind, I also admit, I still have some serious doubts. Will the Chelsea game prove to be another “one off”, which really just happened because a series “accidental” circumstances made it possible, like:
-Ôzil not being able to play, so we didn’t have Ramsey and Ôzil playing at the same time
– The Ox gone, as he is a player with no defensive clue
– Sanchez on the bench, which probably gave the players selected a timely showing, that they needed a team performance and not individuals to save the day
I am happy to give Wenger the benefit of the doubt, and hope it really is a change. I will keep quiet about wanting Wenger out, and if it proves to be a change, I will be really excited.
But if we come out against Everton and/or Man City with the same old team selections, tactics and mentality, I also hope we can get rid of Wenger, as he really shouldn’t be given more chances.
Regards
Anders