Arsenal – The Inconvenient Truths
I am amazed as I read Arsenal twitter how little acceptance of either side of the Arsenal argument there are. If you disagree with one side or another you labeled a myriad of names and subject to abuse. And to be fair it comes from both sides. Neither side is void of self-righteous nutjobs who think their point of view is absolute and without reproach.
That’s why I wanted to start to look at a series of “realities” or inconvenient truths that surround or season. Together they constitute where I think it has all gone wrong for Arsenal. Each one examined individually could be overcome. Taken together, they in my opinion point to the current state of Arsenal.
Santi Cazorla is a bigger miss than not getting another striker
Santi Cazorla wasn’t in the form of his life when he went out injured against Norwich. Still the agility and guile of the diminutive Spaniard was integral in moving Arsenal forward from defending deep in it’s own zone to attack.
His two footed ability made it easy for him to deftly avoid pressure and play around the opposition always looking for the right pass to make and never really forcing the issue. He would come deep to receive the ball and look to connect a pass either out wide to the wingers or a little farther forward to Mesut Özil. Either way he saw the pass, carefully navigated the field and knew when to make the pass to release the Arsenal attack. It’s not a coincidence that since his departure we’ve become either stale in our successfully transitioning into the opposition half or having an outlet from our back 4 to alleviate pressure down deep.
Forget the striker. We miss Santi.
There is no harm in admitting the game may have passed Arsene Wenger by
Wenger is often praised for the revolutionary thinking he brought to the English shores when he came to Arsenal. From diet, training and scouting, they are just a few of things that altered the course of football in England.
In the early years success came easily and it came easily because of his thinking. But something funny happened and it altered the landscape and in reality Arsene Wenger hasn’t been the same ever since.
We all know what it was. It was the influx of money and while Arsenal had the foresight to expect those changes in some form (the stadium) it didn’t expect the other – namely player wages and players going from team-centric to self-centered.
That dynamic has hurt Wenger more than anything and he clearly hasn’t adapted. He still believes in “social” coaching model. It may have worked in an era when players were played well but not well enough that they didn’t want to connect and play for a team that brought them glory on and off the pitch.
When players no longer gave a toss about which club they played for so long as they were paid well, it required a different managerial approach. You could no longer afford to be a father figure/friend/mentor to these players. Well you could be but you have to offer some form of accountability that isn’t there in the modern player. They will over time leave for richer pastures.
The game gets younger. It’s like that in every sport and some of the greats just don’t know when to let go. What we’ve seen this year indicates that it’s likely the case for Wenger.
Yes, he won the FA Cups and that should buy him a respite and solidify his desire to leave on his own terms. But that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t leave. There is a reason why the managers are younger and younger – it’s because that’s what the game warrants.
I love Arsene Wenger and I love what he has brought to this club but it’s time for someone perhaps 20 years his junior to step into that spot and build on what he built. And there is nothing wrong with that.
Not signing someone other than Cech in the Summer wasn’t a problem. Not signing cover in January was a BIG problem.
Imagine this. You’re the manager of a team that has just finished out a season with the best run in the league. Hauling in the most points in front of a goalkeeper many thought too slight for the English game. You batter you competition in FA Cup. You have no substantial injuries to the squad and outside of a tournament in South America, no international constraints on the bulk of your players.
You in turn sign the best available keeper in England possibly all of Europe. Taking in all the factors just listed you decide to sit pat. For the first 4 months of the season it pays off. You are in the title hunt. Your opposition seems to be falling by the waist side but you’ve got your players still playing for you the way they did towards the end of last season.
Your faith in the squad pays off. Until November. Injuries mount. But you’re still sitting pretty near or at the top of the league. You hear news that some players will be back from injury sooner than expected. Some aren’t
Then you make the fateful mistake of believing that despite all the injuries you can remain faithful to the players who have. The January window closes without incidence and your players aren’t back as quick as you like or if they are back, not in the form you had hoped.
That’s Arsenal. And it’s why I believe Wenger was right to stay pat in the summer but so wrong as to not reinforce in January. His team was flying high and the form was solid. But not getting cover for the likes of Santi Cazorla was in my opinion negligent and one of the key reasons our title chances have faltered.
Wenger made a big mistake in January not signing reinforcements. The results in the 2nd half of the season support that. The results in the 1st half support his gut reaction to stick with squad he had but with just the tweak at goalkeeper.
Players have to bear as much of the blame for Arsenal’s tactical issues as well as Wenger.
The common theme you hear is that Arsene Wenger doesn’t do tactics. And in one respect that may be true. He has, like some managers always felt that if a team played within their system and everyone knew their role within that system – they’d be fine and in one respect that’s fine.
But Wenger has shown he is open to tactical adjustments – such as his desire to sit back when away from home or against stronger teams like Bayern. He has made those adjustments and that flies within the “no tactical-nous” argument.
But forget that for a moment – if we are going to blame Wenger but can see examples of his tactical ability – how are we letting off the players for not executing a plan or for their momentary lapses that lead to break downs.
Against Barcelona at home I was impressed with our commitment to sitting back and exploiting the counter-attack. It was all going well until that moment in the 70th minute when two break downs created the first Barcelona goal.
With Arsenal enjoying much of the pressure at that point the team started to creep forward to keep the pressure on Barcelona looking for the first goal. Suddenly, Per MErtesacker is sucked in too far forward as is Hector Bellerin. As the ball gets out wide to Neymar all I saw was the wide open central part of the field vacated by our missing CB and his partner. Even before Neymar makes the pass I knew the goal was coming simply because we broke down.
Wenger had done nothing wrong. His plan was solid. Players forget themselves all the time. They sense something in the match and start looking to create something. It happens repeatedly. It doesn’t mean or signify that Wenger got anything wrong or that the player is actually a poor player. It just means a player made a mistake and should rightfully be called out on it. But the two go two responses are – Wenger’s tactics (or Wenger is at fault) or the player is poor. Why can’t we just accept that a player made an error and say it for what it was?
Tactically deficiency is a myth. Technically deficient is the truth.
Let’s agree that we define tactics as the application of the principles of play in a particular system of play. The jobs of the individual positions and their closest teammates in the different parts of the field on each side of the ball would comprise small group tactics and the deployment of those groups in blocks would represent large group tactics.
Technique (or a player’s technical proficiency) refers to a player’s ability to perform specific mechanical movements such as kicking or trapping the ball. The mark of an experienced player is smooth, efficient motion and the ability to elegantly transition between different techniques and moves.
We explored and believe that Wenger isn’t as tactically deficient as many would like to narrate. Yes, he is a systems guy and has a system with roles and responsibilities for his players. A strategy if you will.
But where Arsenal are really failing are the individual’s ability to do anything within those tactics. If we were tactical deficient in the attacking third of the field would be creating as many shots or chances as we have? If you’re answering truthfully, it’s no. If we were tactically deficient we wouldn’t be able to do this effectively. And we’ve seen the shots we have.
And therein is the problem – a technical one. We’re getting chances we’re not finishing them.
As for the defensive end. I could go over match after match and pinpoint individual mistakes that lead to goals. The mistakes are being out of position, making poor tackling decisions or poor passing decisions. Those are a flaw found in a tactically deficient system.
If we were tactically deficient, we’d see a lack of shape or players clamoring over each other because they are unaware of their roles.
We’ve got a bigger problem then whether or not we have tactical issues. We’re technically not able to do what need to do – including passing (when was the last time you saw Arsenal pass in a silky manner we love?) – It’s a training issue and that would point back to Wenger and the players.
This list could’ve likely gone on and on. The point is that there are issues and many of them are nuanced. They’ve all contributed to where we are today. Having opinions or even lack of opinions isn’t based on absolutes, there is a nuance to everything. It’s why I abhor what Arsenal-twitter has become. We have to (or we should) accept that are little inconvenient truths to both sides of the argument and accept them for being someone’s opinion – no less valid than your own.
That’s all for today – I am stepping off the soap box.
