The club legend Patrick Vieira has made a comment about the current situation going on at Arsenal, in attempt to have his opinion heard. There are plenty of ongoing saga’s at Arsenal right now, whether it be the Alexis Sanchez saga, the Arsene Wenger saga, or just the general mess that this Arsenal team is currently in. It’s safe to say that there are plenty of topics to debate.
But it’s the mess of the current Arsenal side that Vieira has decided to have his say on; and the club legend reckons that it’s the players fault and that have let the fans, the club and from his perspective, Arsene Wenger, down.
Vieira said in a Sky Sports report: “It is true that people are doubting his capability to manage the team… but I think you have to look at the players and in some situations the players have been letting Arsene down a lot because coaches have responsibility but players have responsibility as well.”
“You can work the whole week in how you want to play but when [the] players [are] on the field they are the ones who have to fight, and if you don’t do it then it is a problem. So we can talk about Arsene, we can talk about other things but I think it is important for players to take responsibility and look at themselves in the mirror.”
Now I agree that the players are the ones at the end of the day that are out on the pitch to get the job done. If they don’t put in the best performance they can, then it’s down to them to take the blame. However more often than not, whatever club it is which you see in football, it’s usually the manager that gets the brute force of such criticism. Sometimes such criticism is unjust, however there is no denying that Arsene Wenger should take some responsibility for such a poor season, because it’s his tactics, managerial decisions and selections that have left us in the situation that the club currently finds itself.
It’s Wenger who decides to leave Alexis out of the starting line up or to replace Petr Cech with Ospina for the games against Bayern Munich. It’s Arsene Wenger who decides to leave all subs until the 70th minute mark, usually long after there’s a chance to make a change in the game. He undoubtedly is at fault for part of the mess that the club finds itself in, however I do also agree with Vieira’s statement that suggests the players shouldn’t get off easy either.
It seems to be a subject that is spoken about at least a couple times a season, however it is clear to all of us that there are only a few top class stars in this squad, that is otherwise just surrounded by mediocre players. Several of the first eleven don’t currently cut it based upon what we expect as Arsenal fans, especially if the board and management wants to argue that we should be challenging for trophies, both domestically and in Europe each and every season.
Has Vieira made a good point, or should Wenger take sole responsibility for his actions?
Sylvester