Is Wenger still the professor or now just the nutty professor ..? by SV
Is Wenger still the right man to lead Arsenal into a successful era or is it now time for a new approach from a hungry manager with up to date knowledge and a more determined approach? I feel some of my arguments are echoed by the vast majority..
Unfortunately Arsenal have weak links that run throughout the team and will scupper the chances of immediate and short term success..and therefore we can forget the premiership and champions league – absolutely categorically zero chance.. this current squad will never get out of the group stages and struggle against mid table mediocre in the league.
In my opinion, the spine of our team is as weak as it ever has been…
From the back:-
I will start with Szczesny – I’m not completely sure that he himself is sure of his abilities or who he is..maybe he has a crush on a certain German and hence he keeps acting like Neuer on speed.. ? At times he’s erratic, immature and sometimes too arrogant.. We need to either drop him and play Ospina or sign a top keeper… I Keep saying it but Bergovic would have been a better investment than Ozil or Debuchy.
Mertesacker – although a composed German he’s too cumbersome for the top level.. He’s good for slow mediocre teams that we dominate but pacey teams will crucify us, it’s often embarrassing, watching him canter back like rhubarb & custard frantically chasing the opposition in vain…..
Chambers at 19 is a great buy and although a real promising talent can’t do it all alone . I fear his development may be hindered by Wenger’s faith in Mertesacker .. Only time will tell.
And any injury to Koscielny (that’s serious) .. We’re fooked!
Midfield – Although on paper we seem to have a plethora of attacking options with the likes of the Ox, Cazorla, Ozil, Wilshere, Rosicky, Ramsey, etc..but we seem to get overrun when we play teams that understand our game and dominate midfield.. This is because (in my opinion) Arteta is average, he is the old man with a slow brain and slow feet, and is often caught out which puts the defence under unnecessary pressure (opposition teams seem to target him), He should never be first choice for such a prestigious club such as Arsenal.. (Khedira. Carvalho?) We are a top team not an average one… However, It’s not Artetas fault, Wenger picks him and signed him so the blame lies with Wengers belief in him.
Wilshere.. Great spirit but losing the quality he once possessed.. And Although he’s coming back a little to full fitness, it’s a big season for him and needs to prove he’s still got the ability we all know he possesses . He needs to channel and control his anger and determination ..
Up top is simple.. We need someone to score with two good feet who is agile, mobile and intelligent .. Not flick, fall over or give the ball away countless times.. The rest of the Premiership, and in particular the top four, are laughing all the way to an easy ride from the pitiful attack we possess. Giroud, and in particular Sanogo, are championship players and the sad fact about it is, Wenger believes otherwise.. ( unbelievable really)
Since I begun writing this article we have acquired the world class services of none other than Danny ‘ ill-lake ‘ Don’t get me wrong I’m welcoming him with open arms because quite simply he’s better than everything else available in our current squad..but I ask, what happened to a Suarez or Cavani ? …. Even Wilfried Bony.. !
It’s with sheer disbelief how the manager oversees the glaring obvious!
Wenger has given all the excuses under the sun for not buying proven players.. We’ve had enough of potential.. We signed Sanchez who is world class, we have Ozil (who was world class until he started playing under Wenger and passing to poor players that persistently lose the ball) and yet we needed 2 more world class players in August ..! What happened to Carvalho and Khedira ..?
Wenger lovers out there will all point to the great signings of yesteryear but … for every Sanchez there’s a Gervinho or every Koscielny there’s a Squid.. For every King Henry there’s a Lord Bentdner or for every Viera there’s a Denilson..
Nobody is saying Wenger hasn’t done a fantastic job getting arsenal into the top 4 for the past 15+ or so years or how we went a whole season unbeaten.. Those teams were awesome – those times were awesome. But they were at a period before the money juggernauts appeared.. when not all Wenger’s purchases were scrutinised, when we had the freedom of the French talent and the mysterious philosophies he brought were unique – but remember the past has gone and today is….??
I state “ONE trophy in NINE years..!?!?!?”
For me Wenger must go ..our current team lacks direction and purpose – the pulse/tempo of the team is slow and at times we look average.. His tactics are outdated he’s stubborn and persistently keeps the same formation in glaringly obvious situations – he plays poor players or players out of position.. He at times buys brilliant players but also duds.. He appears stubbornly in love with his French countrymen and as an example to this – is there £14m difference between Debuchy and Kelly who plays RB for palace?? Giroud @ £12m or Bony/Michu @ £3m !? Wellbeck @£16m or Mirallis @ £8m?
Yet I agree (in Wengers defence) that he hasn’t had and doesn’t have the best squad and yet seems to do ok in the league.. But when you compare that Real Madrid and Barcelona had better squads than Atletico Madrid last season.. Yet Atletico triumphed through sheer desire.. Their manager had the personality and the drive to inspire his players to play for him to work and give every ounce of energy to win at all costs..maybe that was a one off a bit like Blackburn Rovers… Who knows..?
So my worry is to Wenger… It’s down to him to prove his worth. He persistently states that we have Podolski Campbell and Sanogo and we didnt need a striker.. We needed one before Giroud got injured and yet he played Sanchez in the CL even though we were desperate to get through- yet he never played any of the aforementioned players.. That’s how much faith he has in them !?!?!?!?..
Wenger is a liar and is lying to the fans that pay the highest tickets in the land yet he refuses to buy the players EVERYONE KNOWS WE NEED. He’s a joke and should go NOW!
While Manchester United were breaking the British transfer record for a player (even though not in the Champions League) and then sign arguably the most fearsome striker in the world (Falcao) when it’s clear we should have bought him…
Meanwhile we struggled for a defender to replace Vermaelen, the reported target choosing Roma over Arsenal .. Wenger stated we needed to buy in that department, but he never did. Why..? Why do we have to put up with these pitiful excuses year after year .. About gaining a place with the European elite to enable us to attract the so called best players..? Would Sanogo or Giroud mind if we played in the Championship – simply ‘no’ as they are not the proclaimed world class players Wenger portrays them to be..!
Diaby is perpetually injured along with Gibbs – we also have Arteta…??? And we all remember (or have we forgot) Kim Kallstrom.. The experienced midfielder that was bought to shore up our often weak midfield..that was signed INJURED!!! Seriously.. We do need to change our manager..
And then our only recognised striker is out for three months, and we scrape around in the whoopsy bucket for footballers nobody with title ambitions care for in Defoe or Welbeck.. (We even dithered over Loic Remy) and in my opinion see this as the straw that broke the camels back !!
A transfer window which begun with such optimism ended with deflation .. instead of leaving us feeling refreshed and actually positive we can challenge the other title contenders, we rather appear like a mid tabled big club, leaking cracks all over and being patched up here and there with mediocrity…
Wenger.. You have lost the desire and ability to raise your players for a title challenge.. You fail to replace quality players and only replace them with mediocre. You persistently get your tactics wrong and play players and rely on players long past their sell by date.. Its a disgrace we have to pay the highest tickets in the land and are not being rewarded with value for money..we are spun the line about being in the CL IS IMPERATIVE TO ATTRACTING THE-BEST PLAYERS – YET WE NEVER BUY THE BEST ONES!! And for too long now our injury record is not far short of amateurish that is never rectified by either signing adequate replacements or working out why the players are permanently injured..
And is there anything different this season to think we won’t get thrashed 6-3 5-1 etc..
It’s time to go…
Steve
VIDEO – Arsenal Players Performances in England win over Norway