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Arsene Wenger must stop kidding himself
James Olley7 May 2009
While many observers would argue all Arsenal need is an intelligent summer spending spree to bring the requisite experience to supplement their undeniable potential, doing so may be an admission of defeat by Arsene Wenger.
The Gunners manager has backed himself into a corner by placing his faith in his young talent and, after another season without silverware, he may have to abandon his most sacred principles.
It is unfair to judge the Gunners' strength in depth against Manchester United, given the defending European champions have a squad that are probably the envy of every other manager but the key to Sir Alex Ferguson's enduring success at Old Trafford has been supplementing youth with experience.
It is a time-honoured formula and players like Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes don't need to start every match to provide a reassuring presence in and around the camp to ensure the team produce their best and keep their nerve.
Chelsea have similar resources, Liverpool are fractionally short because of a lack of title-winning experience but Arsenal are a league below. Winning trophies is an expensive business and few sides in the era of inflated TV deals and spiralling wages can win with a blend of youth, attacking football and a whole lot of hope.
Porto won the Champions League in 2004 but even that triumph came through Jose Mourinho's brand of pragmatic and efficient style, rather than a cavalier approach.
Wenger places such great value on flair but that is not a tangible — or trainable — commodity and it is, therefore, at the mercy of the whim of his players.
Confidence breeds creativity and it is no surprise that, once on a roll, Arsenal can prove very difficult to stop — the Invincibles' unbeaten season remains the prime example of that.
But that side of 2004 had big players performing at the peak of their powers for extended periods.
Of course, had Kieran Gibbs not slipped eight minutes into Tuesday's encounter Arsenal may well have been able to overturn the deficit against United.
But it would have been a great injustice and only served to paper over the cracks of a side who, in mitigation, have suffered once again with injuries in key areas, forcing squad players to play the biggest matches the like of which they would conventionally never see.
The plain truth is that several of Arsenal's key players have underperformed when it mattered most. Theo Walcott threatened to have his breakthrough season before injury curtailed his progress and since his return from a four-month absence, the England international has remained a peripheral figure.
Tottenham's Aaron Lennon exposed Patrice Evra's inability to deal with genuine pace mixed with a direct approach but Walcott barely caused the United full-back to break sweat in either leg of their Champions League semi-final and the 20-year-old still too often shows palpable signs of not knowing how to use the weapon defences fear the most.
Cesc Fabregas will undoubtedly become one of the finest midfielders of his generation but he is not a captain. Having only turned 22 earlier this week, he needs to be left to focus on his game and get back to making Arsenal tick and Wenger must work out where he can best do that, given the jury is out on his new attacking midfield role.
Emmanuel Adebayor has had a hugely disappointing campaign and had Arsenal taken the £30million reportedly tabled by AC Milan last summer, it would have represented superb business on present form.
The Togo striker went missing on Tuesday night and has failed to reproduce the work-rate or clinical finishing that put him on the Rossoneri's radar in the first place.
Although capable of flashes of brilliance — his goal at Villarreal being a case in point — the 25-year-old's new contract doubled his wages but appears to have halved his effectiveness.
Andrey Arshavin's brilliant introduction proved the positive effect of new blood: a new centre-back, central midfielder and centre-forward are the priorities.
Too many players are being converted or simply being deployed away from their favourite position — Samir Nasri, Fabregas to name two — and the club are in danger of becoming a finishing school for the finest young talent in Europe.
Anyone calling for Wenger's head would do well to remember Ferguson's lean spell while Mourinho ruled the roost.
They should also take a look at the Arsenal boardroom which is not the place of stability that any manager would want.
American Stanley Kroenke, who owns 28.1 per cent, has not been to see a game this season, while another director, Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith, is so disaffected with the club that she has taken to watching West Ham instead.
The players who have let Wenger down face Chelsea on Sunday and return to Old Trafford next weekend with the chance to prove the gap is not as wide as it appeared this week or the Emirates chequebook may have to come out this summer.
Reader views (19)
The same old lame comments from the pro-Wenger lobby. Anybody who doesn't believe that he has some sort of Messianic qualities is described as 'not a true fan' or 'must support Tottenham'. Pathetic. Fan since the 70's at Anfield in 89, season ticket holder since mid 90's. TRUE FAN. Guys, if the two legs against Man U didn't enable you to see the reality, I guess nothing will. Keep hoping and dreaming. While Wengers' in charge we'll never win another thing. we need a core of strong physical players, with character and determination to hang the decorations around.They must know the Premiership already. NO MORE IMPORTS, we have far far too many already. can you see Wenger doing this? If you can then yopu can argue for one more season if not then he should be sacked immediately as the longer he stays the worse it will get for who comes next (Hiddink?? -Perfect)
- Chris Hume, Billericay, England, 08/05/2009 09:35
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if all of you know better why dont you apply for the job and take over Wenger.what happens behindthe sen you dont know,so why not give a guy a break.he has done wonders.early in the season you were condenming the team,then the team started winning,then there was hope to end the season with 2 trophies.injuries happened and that cant be blamed on anyone and we lost.we just have to hope for less injuries next time and things will be ok.a lot of players i have seen been mentioned as posible buys havent won anything at there clubs eg Lescott,Inler,Upson the list goes on.what make you think they will win because they have come to Arsenal.Wenger is a footballing man and he is the best to take the club foward.trophies will come and i am sure he is as dissapointed as all of us.let support the team.lets be positive rather than just moan fo thigs that you dont control.anyway as matter of fact hate him or love he will be managing Arsenal until 2011 then he gets a new contract till who knows.so if you are not happy go support Chelsea or Man U and leave some of us to support The team we love managed by Wenger.WENGER THE GREATEST
- Dervorsh, Eastbourne, 07/05/2009 23:48
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Rob Gooner, North london
You wouldn't happen to be one of the very many thousands of Arsenal fans leaving the stadium 30 minutes before the end, would you? When Arsenal finish in mid table, which could happen sooner rather than later get ready to see a mamimum of about 18,000 turning up to see the show.
- James Hennessy, london england, 07/05/2009 17:54
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I guess Wenger may have been taken in by what Louis van Gaal did with a youthful Ajax when he won the UEFA Champions using 'boys' like Patrick Kluivert, Nwankwo Kanu, Finidi George at al. But that team also has a certain Frank Rijkaard and some other 'men' that brought stability and confidence to the young guns.
It is okay for Wenger to adopt the same accent on youth policy but not dependence on youth that he has opted for. Football, like every endeavour is a balancing act. It hurts so much to be an Arsenal supporter these days. It is not enough to keep saying "we are a young team and we keep maturing" every year. We need men of steel in the team, not just boys. We ought to be rubbing shoulders with the other big teams just like before 2005.
- Pius Mordi, Lagos, Nigeria, 07/05/2009 17:16
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We are so close to having a trophy winning sqaud and thats the key word...SQUAD!!! 4 in 5 out. Senderos, Silvestre, Traore, Bischoff, Bendtner out. Lescott, Sakho, Toulalan, Kranjcar in. Bendtner+Cash for Lescott. Have to sort out our defense!!!
- Newmy, Milton Keynes, 07/05/2009 16:30
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rob gooner again..blah blah blah...you still have not won a trophy for 4 years,potential wins nothing, you are not near the other top 3 clubs.
- Mark, london, 07/05/2009 16:02
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Well you do sound like a True Gooner, at least you believe in that.. Still using Boys, maybe its to cut down the cost of having star players in your team, you won't buy big players, because big salary means breaking their code of pay. Being in a new stadium and not winning anything don't sound good..
Why pay over the odds for being a season ticket holder?
Another trophy less season, chelsea had it and they spent not too much...
You need experience players
- Adrian, london, 07/05/2009 15:32
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Arsene Wenger is one of the best managers in the football world,he led us UNBEATEN through a full season in the premiership,with the limited budget he has at his disposal i think he has done well to get us in the position we are currently in,semi finalists in the Champions League and a good possibility of playing in the competition next season.When he has spent money he has spent well,Arshavin,Nasri are two examples of that,the problems in the boardroom need to be sorted out if we can move foward and bridge the gap that has grown between us and Man Utd who were worthy winners of the semi.I am one of the Arsenal supporters who can see how far forward Wenger has bought us and do not want him to go,who are we going to replace him with? Arsenal fans should get behind the manager and give him at least one more season to prove what a world class manager he is.
- Jim Ex Pat,Islington N.1, thailand, 07/05/2009 14:29
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I do not think we are that far behind the other clubs in the league. With the signining of two to three players we can win trophies. No need to panic in ARSENE WE TRUST. I supect most of the people calling for Arsene to go are Tottenham suporters they want us to change our manager and under achieve like them. Come on ARSENAL.
- Janet Harrison, welwyn,england, 07/05/2009 14:14
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Just beat ManU in the league and Chelsea too, and I'll be very pleased
- Susan, Halesown, 07/05/2009 14:01
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Arsene' will you please elevate yourself to the board and allow a new creative manager to give the paying public what they want (hope) Football is a past time which is meant to give pleasure and enjoyment and at the moment it's more like torture where the club is punching well above its weight. Nurturing young talent is ok against the lower table teams but against the best of the rest I'd say it's actually doing more damage, placing a teenager in to a team and expecting him to pit his skills against a hardened professional is shall we say harsh, I'd be surprised if Gibbs wears a first team shirt again this season looking at the fixture list!
Happy to see Arsenal dominate the domestic league, drop out of the Champions league and play in the UEFA cup where we have a real chance of winning the trophy, you'd still fill The Emirates and the crowd would get behind team GOALS = CHEERS and a feel good factor
Bring in Slavan Bilic, we've seen what an inspiration the Eastern European's have been (hard workers without the nonsense) Arshavin, Eduardo and Vidic to name but a few.
- Bazza Boom, London, 07/05/2009 13:53
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Wenger will receive more criticism than praise no matter what he does or achieves. Real Arsenal fans know he is on track. Top 4 in PL, and semi-finalists in the FA Cup and the Champions League with such a young squad is not bad at all. There has been development. There has been progress. For that, we are proud of the boys.
- Kiri, South London, England, 07/05/2009 13:19
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As an Arsenal fan, I watched with great interest the Chelsea v Barca clash. I thought it was a wonder goal from Essien. The lesson we (Arsenal) could learn from that, is that our midfielders should be audacious to try and hit the ball into the net when there is the slightest of opportunities and Essien did that very well. Change of philosophy isn't a bad thing afterall- we need results. In Arsene we trust!
- Julius Nuga, Abbots Langley UK, 07/05/2009 13:11
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Arsene Wenger has formed Arsenal into a modern football club knocking on the door of the true european giants. He warned us Arsenal fans that in order to construct the magnificent new stadium we would have 5 seasons without being able to spend large amounts in the transfer market. This was at a time when Chelsea, Man United & Liverpool were paying vast amounts for the best talent. These 3 clubs are hugely in debt, whilst Arsenal are one of the most profitable clubs in world football. The decsion was made to create a young team who would mature together. We have to remember that we reached the F A Cup semi-final, the Champions league final & will probably finish 4th in the premiership. The only teams ahead of us are Man Utd the World & European Champions, Chelsea & Liverpool, who are 3 of the best teams in europe, if not the world. With Arshavin on board for next season, the youngsters having gained another years experience & the possibl;e aquisition of a couple more players in the summer, all looks well for next season. Thanks, as usual, to the amazing Arsene Wenger.
- Rob Gooner, North London, 07/05/2009 13:05
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As a fan since the 70's it saddens me to say that Arsenal are miles away from Chelsea and Man Utd and that was exposed in both semi-finals. Wenger has developed and built a side that is mentally and physically weak, one-dimensional in it's play and tactics and with no spirit, despite all his protestations to the contrary. The teams he had up to 2004 contained a great mixture of 'old' and 'new' Arsenal. He has left all the virtues of the 'old' behind. Players who are committed, love the club, can tackle and stand up to be counted (don't look to leave every summer!) are mostly a product of these islands and his refusal to have a core of British Isles players is one of the main reasons for continued failure since 05 (when the last of those guys Parlour and Keown retired or were moved on. He won't change so he must go.
- Chris Hume, Billericay, England, 07/05/2009 12:20
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When Ade did a overhead kick to score against Villarreal, everyone said it is the best goal(I definitely agree as Ade need to chest the ball up at a level to do a overhead kick. That is skill).Thierry Henry would not have scored so many goals without supports from Bergkamp, Pires and Freddrick. Where are the supports for Ade. Wenger needs to buy experienced in midfield. Should Ade go, it is not his loss but Arsenal.
- Denhen, singapore, 07/05/2009 10:56
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arsenal is name now is not a big team any more as it was known when time of veteran such as Ian W.Adam Dennis B, thienry H, were part of the team. i dn't think there is a player who want to play for fun and loose.no career achievement in arsenal as i can see. Wenger pls buy Teco Modise is a brilliant player mark my word.young gooner are good but they cn't do it without experience player.
- Baggio, Ongwediva, 07/05/2009 10:55
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I think your all missing the point. Arsene Wenger has to get the press to buy into his 'vision'. The fact is, Arsenal are on a tight budget, and this is all he has to work with. We cant make big money signing as we simply dont have the funds. However, with the investment surely to come from Stan Kronke, and with Ivan Gazidis at the forefront of negotiation, it looks like more experienced players will be wearing Arsenal red next season. Dispite all this, the biggest signing that Wenger can make, could be his cheapest...a defensive coach.
- Nazir Rasul, Perivale, 07/05/2009 10:53
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I'm sorry but it was said by everyone at the end of last season that Arsene Wenger needed to bring in more experienced players and he just brought in Aaron Ramsey and Amaury Bischoff.
He also buys cheap centre backs and has no tatical know how on how to switch players around if things are not going well.
He's had forteen years to win something in Europe and has won nothing. Why on earth is Peter Hill-Wood talking about offering him another contract. Why reward failure?
It's time for a fresh start in August with a new Manager. We should be after Marco van Basten.
We owe Arsene Wenger a lot. However, another contract, no way!
- Terry Sullivan, Islington, 07/05/2009 10:08
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