Should Wenger have brought Euro stars back earlier?

Wenger’s decision on Euro 2016 stars cost us! by AH

So yesterday Arsenal got off to yet another dire start to a season, with a 4-3 loss against Liverpool at the Emirates. The loss follows trends of previous seasons, in which have seen Arsenal dramatically struggle on the opening days of respective Premier League campaigns, possibly due to the fact that Wenger never seems prepared for them.

It is one factor to consider that Arsenal are never prepared for the opening fixture of the Premier League, largely due to the fact that as always, Wenger believes the squad is strong enough to compete and that we don’t need any more new faces of inspiration and ambition at the club. In reality however, when was the last time that approach worked Le Prof? Wenger instead for some reason prefers to see the season start with a struggle before he begins to recognise our weakest links. It not until then that he opts for a rushed end to the remain two weeks of a transfer window.

The other factor that of what meant Arsenal not getting off to such a great start yesterday, was because Wenger lacks the ruthlessness to tell the likes of Ozil, Giroud and Koscielny to come back to training without an extended break after the Euros, and to ensure that those three, who are all arguably key players behind this team’s possible success, are all fully fit to face Arsenal’s first opponent. In the Liverpool squad alone, we saw the likes of Ozil’s international teammate Emre Can feature, although of course he did not start the match nor feature as heavily for Germany as Ozil did. But the point is in principle that if Can was present to make some impact off the bench, why couldn’t Ozil also be present in a similar capacity? Ramsey also got to the same round of the Euro’s as Ozil, yet the Welshman has been in training for over a week and was deemed fit enough to start the match against Liverpool.

The same points go for Laurent Koscielny and Olivier Giroud, both whom reached the final with France, but were deemed unavailable to play this weekend, despite the opening round of Premier League fixtures featuring a number of French internationals at other clubs.

Although I can understand why Wenger would want to grant the players an extended holiday after such a long domestic season with Arsenal and then a busy summer at the Euro’s, it is the missing presence of those players, that have largely limited our chances of grabbing all three points against Liverpool. Arsenal were seen to struggle in defence without a recognised experienced centre back, whilst we failed to create as many chances without Ozil in the side. We also did not name a recognised natural centre forward in the entire eighteen man squad for the game, meaning that despite what you think of Giroud, whilst he is not available, we have no out and out strikers able to lead our front line.

It is easy to point the fingers towards certain factors after the result of the match has been determined and although the defence did have a terrible time yesterday, ultimately it is the fault of the manager for allowing the side to get in such a state. Arsene Wenger should take a long look at the reasons behind why we lost yesterday and he should certainly look to act accordingly before next week’s game against Champions Leicester City.

By AH

13 Comments

  1. Thats interesting you mention Ramsay considering he did start the game and got injured. Was always gonna be a tough game but I don’t think it would have been wise to throw those guys in that game and risk injuries

    1. If you have 2 injured and one
      still on his break there is precious
      little you can do except pair your
      your 4th CB with the 5th best option
      or play 3 across the back or something.
      It nearly came off but unfortunately it cost us 3 points.
      Doubt we will get another CB unless its a freebie.
      But why even bother?
      Kos Holding Bielik Chambers Gabriel (back in 5 weeks)
      and Mertz after Xmas.
      Think we will get another midfielder 🙁

  2. Yes bring them back early then they limped off clutching their hamstring before halftime so he can be accused of rushing them back without adequate rest.

    While their are genuine reasons for concern regarding the club’s affair, it is also obvious to me that some of us have a real hatred for the manager, and will moan about any and everything he does.

  3. Ozil should be available at Leicester game but we still have Cazorla, so it’s not necessary. Kos maybe next week, you can’t sacrifice the future entire season in one game. Those muscles need proper relaxation before it can work hard again.
    Thumbed me down, I ‘m a bit happy that we won’t see Rambo for awhile. AW seemed blindly to put him on the team when someone better is actually available.
    TBH Rambo class recently is in the middle of nowhere. Not smart enough as play maker (still wanted to score by himself) but also not discipline enough to be CDM.

  4. I just hate the fact that the owner
    and the Manager are not seriously
    trying to win the EPL.
    The owner has admitted publicly
    that winning would be bad for his business.
    The Manager is against a winning expectation
    because if he fails to win he would lose
    his life’s addiction and the not so shabby 8 mill salary.
    The boards motto is
    “when things are good we say nothing
    but when things are bad we still say nothing”.
    For those of us who want to win the EPL
    and stay Arsenal supporters what do we do?

    1. Could you please give a reference for the owner saying winning was bad for his business.

      Kroenke says very little and to my knowledge he has never said that.

  5. Wenger has soft weak squad coupled with his arrogance Arsenal are competitive enough. Mustafi deal should have been wrapped by Friday instead it is doubtful. This Emirates stadium is quiet as usual if anything goes by it is first match so till 3 fixtures are completed we cannot put label on them.

  6. First, Inside the stadium : Leave and clear out the stadium. Don’t buy any merchandises even a pin. Silent Stan and his gang bangs only understand economical speech.
    Second, Out side the stadium : Organized protest on match days with those banners. With those downhill benefits Stan and co’s will listen.
    The BIG question is HOW MANY of those capacity crowds actually want this regime end? If it’s up to 40-50%, it’ll take effect. But if it’s under 15%, you better should your mouth and keep those discontentment at this sites. Protesting inside the stadium will be useless because you are minority there, not to mention you’ll disturb our beloved team.
    I think, that’s it.

    1. @ Davidnz
      Sorry, not “better should” I mean “better SHUT”. And one more thing. In my faith, the minimum effort of men is PRAY. So pray a lot.

  7. First of all wenger doesn’t know what enforcement does this team need. If he was a good manager he could identify the player he wants and get them cheaper than the current price. He always acted too late and prefer to make a panic buy. If he was a good manager, he could have bought Mustafi 20mil and Lacasset 25mil back in June. But the penny pinching manger doesn’t act in time. He is destroying the club and he is destroying his legacy. He should have listened the fan and all the analyst pointed all the past few years if he really care the success of the club. He is only care about his own salary and making money for the owner. But his mission is to destroy the greatness of the clubs,

    1. Wenger doesn’t want to destroy Arsenal, I guarantee you that. He’s having “Wengzheimer”. Hahaha…

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