Arsenal – So What Is the Solution?

I think it is now imperative that someone within the hierarchy of Arsenal to find a quick solution to our ever increasing slump. If they cannot find a solution then they should step aside and find someone who can. This message is directed to both Arsene Wenger and our Board of directors. I am not trying to be dramatic but the first half against Man United was quite possibly the worst and most inept performance by any Arsenal team in the last 15 years. We could not pass the ball, retain possession, struggled to clear our lines and simply sat back and witnessed wave after wave of attacks by Man United. It was inevitable that we were going to concede in that half I was just amazed at how long in took. I was also not surprised about the statistic that showed we only had a miserable 32% possession in that half. The last team to dominate us like that at home were Barcelona and Man United are not even in the same league as them. What angered me the most about our performance on Sunday was the fact that we were playing a VERY average Manchester team without Ferdinand and Vidic in defence, yet we made them look great.

Objectives of our club

Correct me if I am wrong but I was under the opinion that the main reason for us moving to a bigger stadium was to remain financially competitive, so that we could compete in the transfer market in order to buy and retain the best players. Instead it appears that this increase in revenues has actually resulted in us spending LESS on transfers. How does that make any sense? This is why I have to question the objectives of those that run our club and I include Arsene Wenger in this too. Despite publicly stating our ambitions the facts prove we are actually a selling club with a need to retain large profits and hoard cash. Money may not guarantee success, as evidenced by Liverpool this year, but selling your best players and not replacing them does guarantee failure.

Mistakes Made by Arsene Wenger

I have been a resolute defender of Arsene during these troubled times and I still believe that he has earned the right to be given until the end of this season to turn our fortunes around. The problem is, if we want to progress as a football club we cannot continue to look back and admire Arsene’s successes. It has been seven years since we last one a trophy and the clock is ticking. There are many problems with retaining managers for too long – just look at the last year of Brian Clough’s reign at Nottingham Forrest which ended in relegation. Unfortunately at the moment our football team and our coaches are looking very stale. They seem to lack ideas and confidence.

Returning to Sunday’s game I felt that Wenger made a huge mistake with his tactics and choice of personnel. He started the game by playing the slowest right back in the country, Djourou, against Nani, one of the fastest wingers, and a half fit Vermaelen against Valencia. The result was an embarrassing display of football by a team desperately short of confidence. Both the goals we conceded came from very poor play on the flanks. The first goal came when Djourou tired of being given the complete run-around by Nani just stood off Giggs and allowed him all the time in the world to pick his cross which found an unmarked Valencia at the far post. Vermaelen was actually standing behind Valencia when he scored. However some credit must be given to Wenger to realising how bad Djourou’s performance was and he substituted him before the start of the second half. Nevertheless the goal we conceded in the second half was simply awful. Valencia turned Arshavin like he did not exist and then continued his run into the box without a single tackle coming from our full back – TV.

Arsene seems to making the same mistakes repeatedly because, in my opinion, he is so stubborn with his methods that he thinks that his decisions will, by some miracle pay off. A half fit TV should never have played on Sunday. Ignasi Miquel did not play too badly against Swansea and should have played on Sunday. Also it is obvious to all that Djourou is an average centre back and an awful right back yet Arsene plays him ahead of Nico Yennaris. He also has unwavering faith in players who consistently let down our team. None more so than Walcott and Arshavin

Nevertheless I go back to my original comment in that I still admire Arsene for what he has done for our club. He has been our most successful manager ever and it’s for that reason that I strongly think he deserves the chance to turn our fortunes around. However if he fails, then this issue cannot be left to drag forever. The problem is that there is no one on our Board with the guts or vision to act for the benefit of our club to make the serious decisions.

Since 2005 I have been praying / demanding for the club to invest in the squad. I always felt that we were at least 2 players short of becoming a dominant global force. Instead we followed a strategy (primarily caused by our move to the Emirates Stadium) of selling our best players and replacing them with youngsters who had potential. Apart from Fabregas, this strategy has failed miserable. I feel that our club has gone backwards in the last 4 years and the tide must be stopped. The problem is who will stop the tide and make us a force again? I am genuinely hoping that Arsene is that person.

Potential Solutions

Firing a manager, in my opinion is not a solution but replacing the manager can be – unless there is a ready made world class replacement (maybe Pep Guardiola) we should not entertain the idea of firing Arsene Wenger.

The coaching staff must be reshuffled and new blood needs to be brought in. A good start would be to bring in a new assistant manager, someone who can provide another opinion to Arsene rather than to simply be a “yes man”. Just look at how many assistant managers Sir Alex Ferguson has had over the last 15 years.

The current Board of directors is desperately lacking a genuine football man who can bridge the gap between the manager and the Board. Arsene has been given too many responsibilities. He cannot be blamed for our lazy Board. He should only look after team affairs including actively searching for new players to improve our squad. The actual money side of negotiating transfers and contract extensions must be left to another person. We have been lacking this type of person ever since David Dein was ruthlessly kicked out for ironically trying to get Stan Kroenke on the Board!

Only time will tell if the action required will be taken but I am not holding my breath. At the moment we are floating without any real direction, watching whilst other clubs like Spurs over take us. There is an up and coming dilemma that our Board has failed to see which can result in a potential crisis at our club and that is the renewal of season tickets. After all how many gullible fans are willing to pay for the most expensive tickets in the UK to watch a team struggle to reach the top 6?

@TNCharles

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Comments

[John]

The solution is to support the team wholeheartedly now. All this moaning is pointless at this moment in time, leave that till the season is over. Nothing is going to change in the near future so if you are a supporter you might as well, erm, support. You do enjoy football do you, or is it just an excuse to moan? There is still an awful lot to play for, you know! We are the Arsenal!

[sellarshavin]

I agree with John, if we were going to do anything in the transfer market we should have already done it, there isnt enough time left. Now assuming that Arsenal make the champions league which is wishful thinking, we need a clear out of the over paid players taking up space in our squad and to replace them, not necessarily with £30m signings but i think Wenger can generally sign players for 10-15m and turn them into world class players with more success than not. It would be nice to have a marquee signing on top of that but i very much doubt that will happen. If we miss out on the champions league however we will struggle to attract the big name players to get us back in there (on top of loosing Van Persie) that's why they should have taken action at the beginning of this window and it will result in them having to fork out even more money if we finish 5th.
Only patience and support for the team can be positive attributes at the moment as frustrating as things are, I just hope the greedy board dont do anything stupid like increase ticket prices another 6% without the champions league to disturb that!
But when summer comes round here is the definite drop list:
Arshavin!
Rosicky (actually improved against Man U)
Squilaci
Almunia
Fabianski
Do not give a contract to Benayoun (hes played better than most on the list, but he hasnt been spectacular and certainly not even good enough to be used as a regular sub at least according to Wenger. In my opinion his good attributes are down to the fact he wants to stay, as soon as he gets his contract his desire to prove himself will diminish. Remember Wenger isnt a manager like Moriniho or Fergerson he tells players the facts expecting them to do the right thing but leaves it up to the players to inspire themselves.

On loan players who should NOT return:
Bentner
Denilson
Vela

[Thomas]

Agree with the analysis.I believe Wenger thinks he can do no wrong but results prove otherwise.The defence has not been fixed and as aresult continue to leak goals even against weaker teams.Attack wise it's the same story of failing to convert chances. When you look at how other teams score it seems the gunners don't want to shoot and score.The reason is obvious to fans and analysts but not to Wenger.The ceaseless passing around the box gives defenders time to mass and stifle the gunners.Wenger believes his players should be allowed to pass and shoot. He calls massed defence anti soccer.He is very naive.
We all know the gunners could have at least won the FA/epl trophy if he had invested in the defence.He refused to pay a million or more over the price.He stuck with a dodgy gk from the cl final to 2010.That is least four seasons wasted.
If Arsenal can't get the cl berth,he shoul d pay the price.
Hopefully the new manager could take the gunners back to cl within two to three years.To allow Wenger to carry on will result in a greater slump.

[Sadman]

I think everything you say is justifiable. Is there a way for it to be communicated to the club so that they will stand up and listen (national ad, demos on match day, etc.)? Otherwise, you are just pissing against the wind. Time for change...