The Problems At Arsenal Are Many And Worrying by citrenoogeht
Owner
Stanley Kroenke, or ‘silent Stan’ is a business man who puts profits before sporting achievements to a fault. He shows no interest in Arsenal’s success other than when it affects him financially. Ironically, his lack of investment is having a direct impact on his profits. Last summer’s transfer budget of £70m was laughable. We are rumoured to have another derisory budget this summer of just £45m which could rise depending on other factors, such as winning the Europa League cup and qualifying for next season’s Champion’s League. However, this amount will still fall far short of an estimated £150m – £200m that Arsenal needs to become competitive.
Unai Emery
Unai Emery inherited an Arsene Wenger team that had failed in previous seasons and was given the remit of galvanising the team to achieve the minimum requirement of Champion’s qualification in his first season. His budget of £70m has proved to be a huge restraint on his ability to field a team in his own image. But one has to ask, after nearly a season of Unai being in charge, what is his own image? Initially he seemed like he was going to be a “no nonsense” manager who was confident enough in his thoughts to drop Ozil and to withdraw a contract offer to retain Aaron Ramsey. On the park, at the beginning of the season, one would have believed due to the setup and performances that Unai Emery’s identity was high pressing, playing out from the back and intricate passing. However, as the season has worn on, it has been difficult to lay an identity to Unai’s footballing philosophy due to his constant tinkering. Unai has been guilty of changing the formation constantly, poor in-game management decisions regarding substitutions, and failing to improve the mental fortitude of the team.
Sven Mislintat
One of the first casualties of the Unai Emery era has been that of the former head of recruitment Sven Mislintat. Sven’s brief appointment at Arsenal has overseen the signings of promising players like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Lucas Torreira, Bernd Leno, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Mattéo Guendouzi and disappointing players like Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Stephan Lichtsteiner. IMO, with the tight budget that Sven had he did a good job. Lille’s Nicolas Pepe was identified early on as one of his targets, however Sven was not supported in making this potential signing a reality. Now Pepe is worth twice the amount that we were considering buying him for, proving that he did not earn the nick name “Diamond Eyes” for nothing. Mislintat leaving has left a void at Arsenal that is yet to be filled. The last player to come into Arsenal was of course Denis Suarez from Barcelona. Suarez has been an unmitigated flop, only ever featuring as a sub for a sum total of 90mins before becoming injured and returning to Barcelona. Worryingly, I would attribute Suarez loan signing to Unai Emery as these two had a history when Emery managed Sevilla.
Steve Bould
Or to use his official title “First Team Defensive Coach”…. is the glue that links the shambolic defence of the Wenger era to shambolic defence that now plagues the Emery era. I honestly do not know what this guy does. All I know is he is never held accountable by fans for our shambolic defensive displays. IMO, Steve Bould has been nicking a living for far too long…. and it’s got to stop.
The Players
In general there seems to be a malaise that runs through the squad, a complacency if you will, that should be furthest from the mind of a serial winner. The lack of hunger and desire is apparent and costs the club points. But should we be surprised when the majority of our signings are on bloated wages when they in turn behave like mercenaries…. biting the very fingers that feed them?
The Fan Base
All things considered, I think the fan base is trying to be patient. However, because things do not look like they are going to change (because of the endemic problems that I have already stated), the fan base’s patience is wearing thin quickly. What we have brewing here ladies and gentlemen is the perfect storm.
Is there any way that we can fix all these problems very quickly? I think not….
By citrenoogeht