by ALWYN PAYNE
They’re a big club that make a profit. They have a decent stadium, a good sized fanbase, good infrastructure at the club, yet they’ve won sod all in six years.
The problem lies elsewhere.
Is it the manager? Wenger has been at Arsenal for 15 years. The second longest serving manager in the league, second only to you-know-who. He’s had time to build a legacy there, and, although he’s had some quality success early on in his tenure, he’s come to a barren spell over the past half decade.
True, they’ve had constant Champions League qualification in this time; they’ve looked like threatening to win the league on a few occasions, and they’ve played some beautiful football, but at the end of their careers, unless they had a Shankly/Busby-esque influence on their clubs, managers are judged on their trophy haul. Ferguson waited years to claim his first major trophy after joining Manchester United, but Wenger had instant success at Arsenal. Only now, after the honours have dried up, have people started questioning his managerial ability.
They do play beautiful football, it can’t be denied. Even their goal on Sunday was one that no other team in our league would score – it was attractive, and lethally despatched. Herein lies their current problem though – their vast majority of play was too attractive. Too many cooks spoil the broth, just as too many passes waste the chance. Case in point; each of Fabregas, Wilshere, Nasri and Chamakh choosing to pass yesterday when in Bolton’s area with a shooting chance. Why are they so afraid to have a crack? They’re too bothered with trying to score the “perfect goal” that they lose sight of what really matters – scoring more than the opponent. Their pretty football is nice to watch, but I’m sure their fans would rather they started winning ugly.
Back to Wenger; he looks like he’s beginning to lose it now. His acts of petulance on the touch line are getting worse. The tragic irony being that his preferred target – a bottle – is the very thing that his squad lacks. They aren’t lethal enough, and they have nobody to take the game by the scruff of the neck and drag out a win. Many people thought that, after Viera left, Fabregas would take up the mantle. Although he got some plaudids for giving ‘captain’s performances’ after receiving the armband, I genuinely don’t think that he’s the right man for it. They need to sign a leader on the pitch – a good player who puts himself about, and isn’t afraid to get stuck in, berate his team mates, and someone who has a winning mentality. Could it be Jack Wilshere? Who knows.
They have some brilliant individual players, but their squad just isn’t good enough. Where do we draw the line though? For years, each summer we’ve been saying “They just need a defender or two,” or “They just need a new midfielder,” and in some cases; “They need two defenders, a midfielder, a winger, a striker, and a new manager,” and then Wenger keeps pulling things out of his floppy French hat, but to no avail. They came reasonably close this year, but yet again, they bottled it. Just like last year, many people were guilty of claiming that Arsenal had the ‘easier’ title run-in, and so were favourites. Just like last year, just like the year before, they cocked it up. There are no easy games with Arsenal. Since losing to Birmingham in the (hilarious) Carling Cup final, they’ve beaten two teams. Newly promoted Blackpool, and the mighty Leyton O’s.
Where Wenger differs from Ferguson, and where Ferguson comes out on top, for me, is the Frenchman’s inability to rebuild a squad. Time and time again Alex Ferguson has had to sell key players, and rebuild for the next generation – and he carries on winning trophies. He constantly – according to the media – goes through transitional phases with United and, as is looking increasingly likely this season, he gets the best out of his teams and wins trophies. Has Wenger been getting the ‘best’ out of his Arsenal squad? Have they even been overachieving in recent years? The point remains to be seen, but this summer is a massive one not only for him, but for Arsenal Football Club. They need to get it right, and they need to do it soon, or they face mediocrity on a much larger scale.
So, what quick fixes do they have? What would you do if you were Wenger or the owner? Answers on a postcard.
