Tag: Arsene Wenger

I want our Arsene back from the jaws of his own vanity

TotalArsenal

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Among all the manure that has hit Arsenal this season: departure of our best player, goal-scorer and captain to one of our arch-rivals; knockouts from both domestic cups by lower divisions teams; probable exit from the Champions League in first knockout stage; a lot of poor performances in Premiership, ridden with individual errors; horrible first halves of the games; and lack of points in big matches – the conflict between so-called AKBs and so-called AAAs (both labels are idiotic) probably takes top spot on the stupidity list.

Both sides – with good reason frustrated by lack of trophies – point fingers at someone.

For so-called AKBs, Arsene Wenger and whole management of Arsenal are just victims of the market-quake created by Roman Abramovich in 2003; and continued by oil-money-driven clubs like Manchester City, Malaga and Paris Saint-Germain, or members of post-communist Russian oligarchs that make clubs like Anzhi and Zenit European powerhouses (more on financial level than in terms of being comparable to Barcelona or Real Madrid; clubs who enjoy duopoly in Spain, thanks to both special TV-rights status and the lenient policy that Spain have regarding clubs who have huge tax debts).

Arsene Wenger, according to this side, deserves endless trust and would like him to remain Arsenal manager forever. If there is anyone to blame, it’s fans spoiled by greatest successes in Wenger-era: three Premierships, four FA Cups, four Community/Charity Shields, reaching the Champions League final, and flowing and eye-catching football. In McCarthyism fashion, these ‘spoiled’ fans are labelled as Anti-Arsenal Arsenal; spoiled brats who are ruining Arsenal from inside, by either making blogs, and other kinds of internet-comments, full of criticism towards Wenger; or by booing and showing disappointment in any way possible at the Emirates, or in away games. The AKBs also believe the self-sustainability model is the right one, even if that means we are not winning trophies.

For so-called AAAs, Arsene Wenger and the whole management of Arsenal are victims of their own incompetence and lack of footballing ambitions.

Arsenal – in every possible way – have been suffering due to insatiable desire to make profit, even if that means selling best players and, therefore, forfeiting against rivals who either sign those players, or world-class players from other clubs. There are members of that group who think that missing out on Champions’ League would actually be a blessing in disguise, as Wenger and the Board would lose the ability to build another Potemkin village for eyes of the fans, by showing Champions League qualification as a trophy.

The most extreme ones claim Wenger was just lucky to inherit George Graham’s defence, Bruce Rioch’s Bergkamp, and to sign three huge French talents in Vieira, Pires and Henry thanks to David Dein’s support. If Stan Kroenke would give up on Arsenal in favour of, say Alisher Usmanov – officially the richest man in Russia – we would make an immediate come-back to the top. While Kroenke and Gazidis are money-thirsty crossovers of hyenas and vultures, Wenger is their accomplice because he signed a pact with the Devil.

While I was writing a comment in response to one of the articles at Untold Arsenal which basically included the sentence above, it suddenly hit me what the real reason is behind the whole conflict: lack of consensus what exactly a pact with the Devil means.

For so-called AKBs, the real pact with the Devil would be abandoning the path of self-sustainability in favour of a rich oil-money/Russian-oligarchs owner, who would consider Arsenal as his favourite toy and probably sign a lot of world-class players who would MAYBE give us short-term success. And then, when our rich owner decides he had enough of his toy, we might be much closer to Portsmouth or, in best case, Malaga; clubs who are struggling after the honeymoons with their rich sugar-daddies ended.

For so-called AAAs, keeping the current status quo is equally regarded as a pact with the Devil. Arsene Wenger either watches the back of the Board, or fails to impose any kind of request regarding transfer policy. Wenger – who is one of the best paid managers in the world, which is in collision with his declared socialistic-wage-structure-policy, accepts the current state, as long as he earns more than seven million pounds per year. The Board get what they want; sales of the best players bring in a lot of money, while Wenger usually manages to find cheaper replacements that are good enough to qualify for the Champions’ League; and, subsequently, the lucrative revenues that come along with Champions League qualification. Wenger has a very secure and well-paid position to perform his experiments with young and/or unproven players.

To the certain level, both sides have their point.

Pro-Wenger fans are right when they point out that Arsene Wenger transformed Arsenal into consistent force, and that he has been more or less a victim of his own success. I would add that the chronology of the events didn’t do him any favour as well: had he spent, say, eight years without trophy before winning the double in the ninth season, reaching Champions’ League final in the tenth, winning another double in eleventh, two consecutive FA Cups in 12th and 13th, having Les Invincibles season in 14th with two Community Shields won in 15th and 16th season, Gooners would be fulfilled with optimism just like fans of FAnchester United have been with Alex Ferguson since 1990, despite fruitless years at the start of Ferguson’s United career.

They are also right when they point out at the examples of Malaga or Portsmouth: rich owners sometimes don’t put their money where their mouths are. It’s hard to disagree with conclusion that our switch from Highbury to Emirates would probably have fewer consequences on our financial competitiveness, had Roman Abramovich decided to have a different hobby in 2003.

The thing is, he didn’t. He decided to splash billions on Chelsea and changed the face of the market in an irreversible way. And here comes the part when anti-Wenger fans have their point.

Arsene Wenger failed to adapt to new conditions. Instead of doing that, he has opted for going with same actions year after year expecting a different/better outcome. Whether he has been forced to do that by Kroenke, Gazidis et al, or he has been doing that by his own free will doesn’t change the fact he didn’t do anything (or at least enough) to fix things that are obviously broken. If large part of conceded goals every season come from set-pieces due to poor positioning or lack of muscles and good ugliness in defence (raise your hands if you pictured Martin Keown), then we should have done something by now.

If our key players get long-term injuries more than players of any other team in England, than we should question our training sessions, medical team, and fitness coaches. If we constantly concede goals from our opponents’ best players, then perhaps playing our own game without giving a rat’s ass for what opponents are going to do, isn’t exactly the smartest thing to do. Instead of making same mistakes every year, Wenger should have made a few ultimatums to the Board even if it means he might get fired.

Unfortunately, it seems that the real Devil is neither Stan Kroenke nor Alisher Usmanov. It’s worse than that. The real Devil is Arsene Wenger’s vanity; the Devil that doesn’t allow him to see his mistakes, not to mention fixing them (I wrote a text about what we should and should not blame Wenger about three months ago: http://allarsenal.com/guestposts/wenger-analysis-what-we-cancannot-blame-wenger-for/ ).

Every time questions regarding Wenger’s actions pop up, Wenger’s Vanity attacks back; mostly mentioning his achievements from the past, or accusing fans of unrealistic ambitions, even if Wenger himself was the one that nurtured those ambitions (the best example: Arsene Wenger called this season’s squad “the best he has ever assembled”, only to warn fans over “unrealistic expectations” a few months later).

How to conclude this? It is easy. AKBs’ motto is: “We want Wenger for life.” AAAs’ motto is: “We want our Arsenal back.”

Let’s find the way in the middle: I want our Arsene Wenger back from the jaws of his own vanity.

I want our Arsene Wenger back: a man capable of making champions AND winning trophies; a man capable of making brave and smart decisions. Admitting mistakes, and fixing them in the summer transfer window, would be the bravest and smartest possible decision.

Written by: Admir.

Admir also writes for the website http://www.allarsenal.com and is based in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Total Arsenal.

Is it loyalty or money that keeps Arsene at Arsenal?

TotalArsenal

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There are many fellow Gooners out there who believe that Arsene has an easy job; that he has absolutely no pressure put on him by the BoD, and is paid vast sums of money whilst constantly underperforming. They have picked up a rumour from one of the blogs or newspapers that he is being paid more than Red Nose, somewhere in the region of £7m.

I have no doubt Arsene is generously remunerated by the club. His salary, whatever it is exactly, will be a reflection of him having been our manager for so many years. It will also reflect market value; as in what others – like the Spanish giants – would be prepared to pay in order to entice our manager to their club, and it will also mirror the club’s attempt to keeping Arsene at Arsenal throughout the difficult period of building the new stadium, and beyond.

You might strongly believe that Arsene has not been worth his assumed mega salary, as he failed to bring in silverware for eight years and counting, but the BoD are likely to have a totally different view. They are more likely to look at the wider picture, and will regard Wenger as a fine and  loyal captain who guided the new Arsenal ship through some stormy seas. In the process, he ensured CL qualification year in and year out, and did not require additional funds for player purchases to achieve it.

The club will have made a ‘Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats’ (SWOT) analysis during the periods of before, during, and after the build of the new stadium, and will have done the same  for the direct competition. I have no doubt that based on these SWOT analyses, the BoD will have concluded every time that Arsene did relatively very well. There will have been  hope rather than expectation for silverware over the last eight years, and only now will Arsenal enter a period in which it will be able to become a reasonably strong competitor for the top prices again; and hope is very likely to turn once again into expectation as a result.

This optimism is based on both a better financial position going forward and the likely, or should that be hoped for, impact of Financial Fair Play on the mega-rich clubs, who have been able to operate with enormous losses over the last 4-8 years.

It all remains to be seen whether Arsene is the right manager to guide Arsenal to silverware in this new era, and whether he actually still wants to do it.

Looking at him over the last few months and seeing all the abuse he has had to put up with, I wonder why he just does not call it a day. He could go anywhere; I am sure both Madrid and Barcelona will have vacancies this summer, or he could take a national manager job and take a team to Brazil. He could also just take a break from it all and spend time with his family: life could be so easy for him.

I don’t know Arsene personally but he does not strike me as a person who values money very highly, or somebody who wants an easy job either. Managing Arsenal during and after the building of the new stadium has been anything but easy. Yes, he was paid a lot of money in the process, and no doubt he was offered more job security than most football managers across Europe, but staying at Arsenal, during what is most probably going to be his best remaining years as a manager, was not the easy option.

What would he have lost, had he gone to Madrid or Milan, or Bayern, or Barcelona, or the French National Team, or anywhere else, say in 2006? Even if he had been sacked after a season for not winning anything, or for whatever reason, he would always have had his fantastic record with Arsenal, and found a new job again in no time.

Arsene clearly does not have to work for money anymore. He stayed at Arsenal, and is also now not prepared to leave, for another reason: partly because he is a very loyal person, who, in an old fashioned sort of way, wants to honour his contract every time, and partly because he is an ambitious man who wants to finish on a high and return Arsenal back to the very top, and with beautiful football in the process.

I am not sure anymore whether he is capable of doing this once more with Arsenal, but what I am sure about is his loyalty, ambition and passion for the club as his main drivers for staying put at Arsenal, and that money has very little to do with it.

And for that alone we should always respect him.

Written by: TotalArsenal.

Everybody loves Rosický except Arsene Wenger

TotalArsenal

Well at least it seems that way!

Will we finally see our little Mozart direct play again?
What’s not to love about a fully fit and passionate Little Mozart?!

What has happened to Tomáš Rosický? He has been mostly fit since 1 December last year, but nevertheless has hardly played for us. Despite his reputation of always being injured, the Czech midfield maestro has averaged 35 games in all competitions over the three previous seasons. Yet, this season, he has played in only eight games and in most of them only as a substitute.

I have always believed that Rosicky is well liked by  Arsene, and as he signed a new contract about a year ago, there was every reason to believe that the 32 year old Czech would play an important role for us this season.

Tomáš is a player who, when fully fit, will give his all for the shirt. On top of that, he has the ability to conduct our game and make us play like Wenger wants us to. He is our most experienced Gunner and plays with real passion for the club. This season we overplayed the likes of Arteta, Cazorla and Wilshere, and it would have made sense to use Tomáš a lot more during the busy December and January months.

The few times he was used this season, he added another dimension to our play. His first half performance against Olympiacos was simply fantastic and his efforts were rewarded by scoring a fine goal. He did not feature in the second half and the team suffered as a result. He probably was not fit enough to complete the full ninety minutes, but it was a shame to not see him play a bit longer.

He also had a good, ‘full of drive’ game against Blackburn – about the only one who did! – and he added new energy and hunger to our team when he recently came on as a sub against Bayern and Spuds.

We all love the little Mozart when he drives forward and dictates our play: he gives us shape and brings in bags of passion, and we all know he loves the club.

So, why did Wenger not play him more this season?

Well maybe one of our readers will know a bit more about Arsene’s recent relationship with Rosicky. If there are any Czech Gooners out there maybe they could tell us whether there were issues between Arsene and Rosicky as a result of Tomáš playing for the Czech republic during the Euros, whilst possibly not being fully fit. I have a vague memory there were rumors about this, and as our maestro got injured – or maybe made his injury a lot worse – Arsene could have decided to side-line him this season.

Another possible explanation is that Arsene is desperate to get his system of football established within the team again, and consequently prefers to play the same players as much as possible. Our team has been searching desperately for its shape and chemistry between the players, and as Arsene’s preferred players in midfield: Arteta, Cazorla and Wilshere were mostly fit, and he also had Ramsey available in recent months, it could simply be that he did not feel the need to play Rosicky more regularly this season.

And maybe, there is a totally different reason; it all remains a mystery to me.

Once again I invite fellow Gooners to shed their light with us on the reasons for Rosicky’s continuous absence as a starter in our first team this season.

He is fit, more than capable, passionate and experienced; all qualities and characteristics Arsenal have a desperate need for at the moment, and I hope to see a lot more of him during the remainder of the season.

Written by: TotalArsenal.

 

Arsene’s era might not last much longer, but a big NO to boycotting our games

TotalArsenal
Can Arsene turn things round before the end of his current contract?
Can Arsene turn things round before the end of his current contract?

There has been a lot of commotion from fans this season, about boycotting games in order to prove a point to the Board of Directors: avoid buying tickets to games in order to not line the pockets of the greedy BoD, so that they will learn from their mistakes and properly re-invest funds into the squad. 

However, apart from the remuneration figures that have been circulated over the Internet, there is no real proof that the Board, Manager or Owner are the sole perpetrators in Arsenal’s lack of spending over the years.  Fans should understand that those in the Arsenal hierarchy are paid their salaries regardless of the increase or decrease in ticket sales, and that not all Board members are salaried in the first place. 

In fact, it’s very likely that, in addition to the aforementioned Board’s salaries, the funds from ticket sales are invested in a wide range of expenses; such as building the club’s brand image internationally, player salaries, financing the stadium debt, remunerating the Arsenal employees (remember that there are employees outside of the BoD, players and manager), and maintaining the pitch and other amenities at the Emirates and Shenley Training Center, etc.

My point is that there is no proof that the board are simply lining their pockets with cash and refusing the club to spend money – there are a multitude of expenses at a football club and by no means will a decrease in ticket sales inspire the Board to invest their own funds on player transfers. 

 A small contingent of fans are attempting to hurt the club in any imaginable way through boycotting games and hoping for the club to lose in order to see change – I will never understand this malice towards a club that fans claim to be passionate about, and have devoted themselves to.  Sadly, if we continue to see a decreasing trend in ticket sales, it may only affect the employees that need their jobs and deserve to be paid (ones that are paid to be at matches to sell programs, food, merchandise, take your tickets at the door, etc.).

More importantly, we must be cognizant that a decrease in attendance may adversely affect our players and squad morale as well.  There’s supposed to be a considerable advantage in any sport when playing games in your home stadium; the lack of attendance can lead players to believe that the club’s supporters are not as passionate and loyal as they once believed.  Aside from direct results in Champions League qualification and title opportunity credentials, this can actually have a minor impact on whether players want to join a club.

Arsenal is known for having a rich history and some of the world’s best and most loyal supporters.  Of course, the club is bigger than any player, manager, small contingent of tumultuous fans, etc. But over time, these revolts can wear down a club and its reputation.

However, at the end of the day, the results of our club in the standings and on the pitch outweigh these concerns, and simply put, we have not performed to the high standards we set from 1998-2005.

What then do we make of the man who has become synonymous with Arsenal?  For me, this summer marks the make or break point in Arsene’s career at Arsenal. 

The stadium debt is now under control; a young core of talents that Arsene developed has recently been signed up to long-term contracts, and several unwanted wages (Squillaci, Arshavin & Fabianski) will be off the books very soon.  Arsene must seize this opportunity and sign a world-class player, along with other talented ones to take this team forward into serious title contention.  Otherwise, the vicious cycle of struggling to qualify for Champions League will continue, and the club could fall victim to obscurity, similar to Liverpool, Leeds United and Newcastle.  Arsene’s current contract expires in the summer of 2014 and another season without silverware will undoubtedly spell the end to a storied managing career at Arsenal.

Bear in mind, I am not proclaiming that Arsene should be replaced if we do not win silverware next year; simply that there needs to be positive progression and considerable improvement in the standings and our on-field end-product, before the board should even consider extending AW’s contract again.  Arsene’s reputation and accolades certainly may entitle him to an extension, but 9 years without silverware at a top club is difficult to defend against; especially considering we have been off the pace of the PL champions by 18 or more points in the last two years (this year and last).

Sometimes, change is necessary in order for a club to move forward and for players to feel that their playing time and jobs might be in jeopardy under a new manager.  It can eliminate the complacency that has plagued this squad somewhat recently, and inspire players to perform with a full effort for the entire 90 minutes during each game.  Of course, the reverse can be true and players can be upset with the change in management, and underperform in the new circumstances.

Despite the lack of results in silverware, Arsene should be applauded and admired for standing by the club in times in which we were placed under considerable financial restraint.  I cannot think of another manager who could have done a better job during his tenure here than Arsene, and his work will continue to be remembered long after he leaves. 

If Arsene is replaced and we are able to attain silverware afterwards, it should not be viewed as a slight against Arsene or the new manager; AW will always be responsible for Arsenal’s beautiful style of football and for developing and holding onto the young core in place, but the new manager will be responsible for instilling some change that will have guided us there.

I know many of you want to see Arsenal eventually win silverware with Arsene as manager, but at what point is the drought too much to endure as a top club?

Can you see Arsenal turning its fortunes around next season?  How do you feel about some fans’ decision to boycott games?

Written By: Highbury Harmony

Angry and hurt Wenger will get Arsenal to do us proud today

TotalArsenal

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Today’s game against Bayern will show us what Wenger is all about. I expect us to play fantastically well and win with a margin of two goals against the Germans.

Wenger gets ridiculed a lot lately, and of course he deserves at least some of the criticism in the press and by a particular section of the fans. But he will prove to us all once again why he has been our manager for such a long period.

The players let him down badly on Saturday. Eight internationals, an experienced PL player, and two promising talents: all did not turn up. I have no doubt that Wenger is very disappointed in the players he sent out there against Blackburn, but he is normally not the sort of man to come out in public with strong criticism of his own players. However, quotes after the game indicate he feels let down by them:

‘The top level is about consistency in every single game and that’s what we could not show. Coming after the Sunderland game we came out with a flat performance and that shows that, mentally, we are not capable at the moment of preparing in exactly the same way for every game. I think we have a great team but this shows we still have to show more maturity on the mental front. We have to understand what it means to win big games. [Blackburn] was a big game for me.”

Wenger has also been irritated by the press and he decided to snap back today. All good in my opinion.

Lots of people have been talking up Bayern and with good reason, but our team is due a fantastic performance and with Sagna, Mertesacker, Wilshere, Cazorla, Theo and Podolski likely to return to the starting-11 tomorrow, we will see what our team is all about. Wenger will have made his feelings clear in the strongest terms to all our players, and he will demand a passionate, powerful and totally professional performance against Bayern. And he will get it from every player he will send out onto the pitch.

This is the team I reckon will start tomorrow:

starting line-up (1)

There is so much quality in this team, and with the right focus and energy we will show the Germans, and the rest of Europe, what The Arsenal is all about. And I expect them to do us proud tomorrow, and to unite the fans once again.

And if I am wrong, you are welcome to come back to Bergkampesque and tell me what a deluded fool I am. 🙂

Written by: Total Arsenal.

How to get the best out of Wilshere in Arsenal’s 4-2-1-3 formation

TotalArsenal

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Jack Wilshere’s performance against Brazil on Wednesday confirmed to the rest of the nation what many Gooners already knew: he is a special talent. Other than fantastic goals being scored, nothing is more exciting than seeing a footballer moving forward with the  ball; fully capable to hold on to it, to go past another player and move into space in front of him, and also able to find the killer pass at any second.

Against Brazil, Jack did this fantastically well. His close control was brilliant and when he moved forward the whole team oozed attacking intent: there was great running off the ball by England’s attackers and Jack found them on a regular basis. There was a wonderful energy about him as well: he radiated with enthusiasm and wore his shirt with pride: something that did not go unnoticed with the crowd.

England’s formation suited Jack very well last night. With the experienced Gerrard  and Rooney behind and in front of him respectively, and Cleverley next to him, he was given the perfect role against Brazil. With the hard working wingers of Walcott and Welbeck making runs all the time, and the clever link-up play by Shrek, Jack was given the perfect support to shine brightly. And boy did he shine on Wednesday. It was good for him to know the experienced Gerrard was right behind him, reading the game well and allowing Jack to express himself to the full. After an eternity trying to fit in Gerrard and Lampard into the national team, have England finally found their best midfield combination?

We have seen similar great performances by Jack for Arsenal this season. But Wednesday’s game also made me think again about his performance against Stoke City. I thought he played well as he made the best of the little space the Orcs allowed us on the day. But I felt, he was not playing close enough to Giroud, in order to give us more attacking options and to break up their walls behind and in front of the ‘D’.

I thought that both Arteta and Diaby stayed behind too much and should have played closer to Giroud by moving into the area in front of Stoke’s ‘D’.  I am not sure whether either DIaby/Arteta or Jack should have moved closer to Giroud on Saturday, but somebody should have.

This brings me to the key question: what is Jack’s best position in our current 4-2-1-3 formation?

For me, there are two sorts of opponents to consider in order to answer this question:  those who play a more open, attacking game against us and those who park the bus.

If a team plays a more open, ‘normal’ game against us, Jack is perfect in the sole, most advanced, attacking midfield position; especially if he gets good attacking support from the box-to-box fellow midfielder (Diaby ideally, but this could also be Arteta, Rosicky, or Ramsey). There is plenty of space for the attackers to run into, and with the wing-backs making constant runs as well, Jack has plenty of options in front of him to conduct/dictate the game. This he does better than anybody else in the team, although Rosicky and Cazorla are very decent alternatives.

However, against the bus-parkers – and the better Arsenal are going to play the more bus parking we will see during home games – we need the attacking midfielder to help out with being a direct attacking threat as much as possible. We need the numbers up-front to avoid our attackers to be isolated and out-numbered constantly; as was often the case against Stoke. We need the most advanced midfielder to be a decent passer of the ball, as well as a real goal scoring threat in those situations; and that Jack Wilshere is not (yet).

As soon as Cazorla came on and Jack moved back a bit against the Orcs, Arsenal looked a lot better and became a lot more dangerous. I reckon Jack best position against ‘park the bus’ teams is actually back into his previous box-to-box, lynchpin position. That’s where he, just like a conductor of an orchestra, will find the space and has the overview to dictate the game; and with Cazorla (or Diaby) in front of him, he has the ideal attacking midfielder to combine with and crack open the seemingly solid defensive lines in front of them (using the wings as much as possible as well, of course).

In fact, I feel strongly that against the bus-parkers we should  play more in a 4-1-2-3 formation, with Jack having the option to move back in order to find space and Cazorla or Diaby to move as close as possible to our central striker.

It will be exciting to see how Jack will develop further during the remainder of this season, and how Arsene will build his team around him going forward.

Arsene gave us Cesc, and now we got another midfield maestro in the making. He might not always get it right when buying and developing players, but when he does deliver to us another world class gem, we should bless our cotton socks he is still our manager.

Written by:  Total Arsenal.

Time to let the Invincibles go

TotalArsenal

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A combination of a proud history, a glorious recent past, a new 60,000 capacity stadium, and continuous top-four finishes, have raised our expectations to dizzying heights over the last few years. Having high expectations, rather than high hopes, is a recipe for unhappiness; and many fellow Gooners have fallen victim to the former rather than opting for the latter.

Arsenal football club has everything going for it, except fans’ patience. After seven years without silverware this is fully understandable; and yet patience,  trust, and continuous belief are now required more than ever before.

Success is virtually always cyclical: it comes and it goes and then it comes again, etc. I guess the one exception to the rule are Manchester United, who under Ferguson, have subsequently weathered French and  Portuguese storms to somehow keep winning things. It all remains to be seen whether they would have won as much, or even anything, in the last eight years, if Wenger had been able to keep his players and spent more money on quality signings; and Abramovic had chosen for stability and consistency, and had worked harder on somehow bridging his differences with the ‘Special One’. But let’s give credit where it is due.

I am proud of our past, and especially our glorious recent history; and it gives me enormous pleasure to think back about the great football we have played. The Mancs might have won more silverware, but the quality of our football, epitomised by the phenomenal achievement of the Invincibles, is what football fans – Gooners as well as non-Gooners – will still remember in twenty, fifty, maybe even a hundred years from now.

However, the past is the past for me, and I enjoy the here and now as much as anything; despite our football being nowhere near as good as before, during and even after the Invincibles era.

Among a significant number of fans there tends to be a need to compare our current performances and (lack of) achievements with those of the recent past; as long as Arsenal do not at least achieve the same in the here and now, they remain dissatisfied. This is exactly the high price that comes with becoming very successful during a sustained period: rather than appreciating and accepting its specialness, we tend to make it our new norm; our yardstick against which our future performances and successes will be measured. This comparison is very likely to lead to dissatisfaction, and in some cases, resentment and anger. You only have to surf certain corners of the Arsenal blogosphere to find the raw evidence for this.

Leaving the past for what it is, and not comparing the current performances of our team constantly against it, whilst realistically assessing our current position, will lead to more realistic expectations; and as a result more inner peace and enjoyment of our football. Easier said than done, but it is as simple as that!

I am also not going to tell you that the future will bring us silverware again: there are no guarantees. Saying that everything will be fine in a couple of years is equally as nonsensical as comparing the here and  now constantly to the past.

Arsenal made the strategic decision to build a bigger stadium in order to compete better with MU and the European top teams in the future, but the arrival of oil money meant clubs could, from one day to the next, spend vast amounts of money without having to worry about the enormous losses and debt they were creating. The new reality bit our mighty team firmly in the arse: not only could we not afford to buy the sort of players Chelsea and MC were able to, they also successfully enticed our carefully developed players away.

There are plenty of reason to be positive about the future, as FFP should come to our rescue, but it all remains to be seen what will happen over the next few years: we should always expect the unexpected, which could be very positive as well as negative.

Arsenal are not going to win the league and we will most probably not win the CL, but we might have a slightly better chance to win the FA-cup. The key thing is, though, to look at the here and now and we have still four months of football to enjoy: every game matters and there is beauty to be discovered in each and every one of them.

Not everyone has realised yet that we have started a new journey this season: we are going through a full blown transition and slowly but steadily the building stones of Arsene’s latest attempt at Wengerball are becoming visible:

  1. A British core of very talented players with real passion for the club;
  2. The acquisition of predominantly Spanish and German quality, experienced players;
  3. The upwards push of talents coming through from our player development system;
  4. The removal of players who have not made the grade by either selling them or loaning them out till their contracts expire, or just letting them run out their contracts;
  5. All key players have been signed up on long term contracts now, which should enable us to hold on to players, at least in the next few years;
  6. More money available from now on, to both hold on to players better – by steadily and responsibly increasing their salaries if and when appropriate – and attract two or three quality players every season.

With these building blocks as the basis of the club’s strategy of making us competitive at the highest level again, these are exciting times; especially if you can refrain from constantly comparing our current performances with those of the Invincibles era, and you can see the progress the team is making.

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We are on a journey and who knows where it will end. But isn’t it exciting we are moving forwards again, albeit slowly? Yes, there are likely to be further set-backs, as our transition is not yet completed, but Arsene now has the tools and funds to further improve the team, if and when required.

If you can let go of the past a bit, and manage to swap your high expectations with high hopes; and mainly look for the positive developments in our football and in our team, you might start enjoying our football a lot more.

Carpe Diem.

Written by: Total Arsenal.

Arsene finally changed tactics against Brighton: but will he do it again?

TotalArsenal

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To play or not to play: a closer look at Arsenal’s rotation policy.

Let me begin by saying that this article will not bring to light any groundbreaking information regarding Arsenal’s current rotation policy, but simply aims to provide the basis for further discussion today.

Aside from Arsene’s constant touchline zipper dilemmas, there has been much debate about a larger predicament on hand at Arsenal; Arsene’s rotation policy or lack there of.

Is it a matter of Arsene not having faith in his substitutes? Is Arsene secretly aware of the lack of depth in our squad? Or is it a concern that his substitutes are not in form and need a run of games in order to produce? Is he worried that the team will lose momentum and chemistry if the starting line-up is altered?

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Whatever the case may be, one thing is clear: Arsenal’s starters are bearing the full brunt of Arsene’s decision to not rotate players often enough, and this is leaving our squad with countless injuries. This article will examine the mentality and considerations which Arsene may be using in regards to his rotation policy.

At first glance of Arsenal’s full squad, there is a great degree of concern over our lack of depth. There is a capable contingent of starters that fans are comfortable with, but the ever-present fear of injuries plagues the brittle confidence they have in some of Arsenal’s injury-prone players. Players like Diaby, Gibbs and Arteta are fantastic for Arsenal when healthy, but it seems that every year they fall victim to recurring injuries that cut their seasons short.

Despite that, I can see why Arsene believes there is depth at almost every position (aside from LB). After his most recent comments on squad depth, he believes in having two players for every position in the line-up. In goal and on defense, Mannone, Koscielny and Jenkinson have all proved that they can provide adequate cover if called upon. Mannone is not the ideal back-up keeper, but was good enough to help Arsenal secure victories earlier in the year.

The midfield is the position with the greatest depth and yet the greatest concern. The long and distinguished injury histories of Diaby and Rosicky have been well documented, while Ramsey and Frimpong have dealt with serious blows early on in their careers; failing to find the same form they had pre-injury. Coquelin is still inconsistent and finding it difficult to discover good form, likely due to a lack of playing time.

Arsene has seemingly lost all faith in Arshavin and has opted to just run out the remainder of his contract. Even when given playing time, Arshavin is often played out of position on the LW where his lack of pace and work rate are exposed. The wing is the only position that sees regular rotation, as Gervinho and Chamberlain are often rotated with Podolski and Theo (occasionally with Giroud rotating out and Gervinho or Podolski playing up top; but it will likely be Theo rotating with him, from now on).

So then, with all the aforementioned substitute players, why do they rarely get a start in the first team?

Why not play Rosicky when our offense is finding it difficult to break down the opposition’s defense? Why not play Coquelin in games that Arteta has clearly come out sluggish and is looking tired, after starting numerous games in a row?

Unfortunately, this is a question that I cannot answer without being in the Arsenal coaching staff. There could be personal disagreements between the player and the coaching staff, Arsene may have lost faith in their abilities (includes not believing in their current form) or maybe Arsene wants his starters to maintain their form and fears a loss of momentum if he changes the line-up too often.

If the latter two reasons are to blame for Arsene’s lack of rotation, then there are a few simple solutions. In respect to lost faith in his substitute player’s abilities, he simply has to lose any emotional attachment he may have with them and replace them with more capable players. It’s unacceptable for a top club to be carrying dead weight on its roster and to not sell a player who never plays because the bid did not meet Arsene’s valuation of the player.

However, it’s a different matter altogether if the player refuses to leave or no clubs have inquired about them. The allure of potential resonates in Arsene’s evaluation of his players, but some of these players would be better off on loan; gaining the necessary starting minutes for their development. Their growth will only go so far if they are only exposed to training sessions, spot starts and substitute appearances. In addition, it’s very difficult for a substitute to play one game every three weeks since they are lacking game experience/form, confidence that there is room to make mistakes, and the mental concentration needed to see through an entire match.

Clearly, the lack of a current rotation policy has not helped us find consistency from game to game and has only resulted in fatigue and injuries. This begs the question of whether Arsene’s belief that our starters need more playing time to gel as a unit, and gain familiarity with one another, is accurate.

Every time he incorrectly chooses to start a substitute, the decision is scrutinized and fans blame his tactics. However, when he elects to stick with the same starters in several consecutive games, fans call for him to rotate players more often.

Understandably, fans’ patience with Arsene’s decisions has grown thin after 8 years without silverware. Arsene is a professional who has stated on numerous occasions that he is not bothered by what the media and fans think about the choices he makes, and no coach would ever allow the masses to dictate their decisions.

With that said, I would like the rotation decision to lie somewhere between the two extremes and for Arsene to find the right balance between his starters and substitutes. The ideal starting line-up should always play against the top clubs and in important cup matches, while more squad players should start against mid to lower table teams. If Arsenal has a run of tough fixtures, Arsene would do well to start a few of his squad players, in addition to the current group of favoured starters. Such a simple rotation philosophy would help ease the burden on the starting group and keep them fresh, along with possibly taking preventative measures on injuries due to being overplayed. Non-starters cannot play confidently when they are in constant fear of losing their place in the next match.

We’ve already seen at first hand what a lack of first-team opportunities can have on players such as Giroud, Coquelin, Koscielny, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Gervinho. If they were given a decent run of games, each one could perform consistently well. However, they generally have all failed to contribute adequately when only given a start every 5 or 6 matches.

Fast forward to our last match in the FA Cup vs. Brighton, and we saw Arsene fielding plenty of his non-starting squad players.

It was certainly a significant change in tactics from the majority of the season, and it was an encouraging sign that perhaps injuries played a factor in the lack of rotation all along. In addition, Arsene may have fielded his starters so often because he knew we needed to catch up with the competition, after an accumulation of poor performances earlier in the season.

Transitioning new players into a squad is never a simple task, and Arsene has done a commendable job of rotating the CBs and CFs/Wings. The area that needs greater focus for rotation going forward is the midfield. Now that the team is more established and that players are returning to full health from injuries, I am confident that we will continue to see good rotation from Arsene.

To conclude, if Arsene is truly cognizant of the lack of squad depth, but is simply refusing to admit it and electing to play his starters into the ground to compensate, then there’s a bigger issue at hand.

Firstly, he is jeopardizing the long-term careers of his starters by making them more susceptible to injury.

Secondly, he’s prioritizing his own ego above the greater good of the team instead of admitting he has made mistakes in his purchases during the transfer windows.

However, I truly believe that everything Arsene does for Arsenal is in the best interests of the club, and am just hoping for more frequent rotation to give our squad players a fair opportunity to prove their worth and to avoid an accumulation of injuries.

What do you Gooners think about Arsene’s rotation policy? What do you think is the cause of the lack of rotation, and what should be done to resolve this issue?

Written By: The Gooner

Wenger is here to stay: Top-Four finish or not

TotalArsenal

I have started to notice a growing number of fans – although still a minority – hoping that Arsenal fail miserably this season, so the BoD will have to change their policy and Wenger will get the sack.

Now, how any self-confessed supporter of our club could want it to fail is beyond me. The theory that failing to qualify in the top-four would get the BoD to invest heavily and also sack Arsene, is a short-sighted one.

I have no doubt that the BoD have been expecting a non top-four finish, and therefore no CL qualification, for the last few years at least. I have also no doubt that whatever you think of Kroenke – and let me state categorically I am not his biggest fan – he is in it for the long-term, and plans accordingly.

Some fellow supporters are still reading the final chapter of the last book of the Wenger-era and have failed to notice that the club and Arsene have moved on. This new book was started about a month ago when Arsenal signed up the Brit-pack; and with Theo’s subsequent signing of a new contract, Arsenal have well and truly started the Wenger-Brit-Ball era.

It is great news that we signed up six British talents and the club wanting to build a new team on and with them. It shows a long-term vision of how to combat the oil-money and build something truly special. It is absolute key to keep them together and let them grow and develop together, and they also need the best possible education and support.

Who else than Arsene himself is going to oversee this new project? This is probably going to be his last project and it should take between three and seven years to make it come to full fruition. Don’t be surprised if Arsene is to remain at Arsenal till 2020 or longer.

You might be disillusioned about Arsenal’s failure of not winning anything in the last seven years; and you might feel the club/Arsene should have done better with the available resources. And you might have a point, but I have no doubt that the BoD look at it differently and that they see Arsene Wenger as one of their major strengths in terms of moving things forward.

Arsene has been given the go ahead for Wenger-Brit-Ball and the club have invested in it by signing up our British talents and by paying Walcott a reported £100k per week.

There is very little doubt in my mind that part of their long-term plans is keeping hold of Arsene and giving him the time to develop a super-team again, whether Arsenal finish in the top-four or not (which they will btw).

Written by: Total Arsenal.

Wengerball will come again but trust, patience, and consistency are needed

TotalArsenal

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“We are all patchwork, and so shapeless and diverse in composition that each bit, each moment, plays its own game. And there is as much difference between us and ourselves as between us and others.”

Michel de Montaigne.

Wengerball does not just happen. It needs to be carefully constructed and the following four components are essential: vision, quality players, hard work and consistency. Arsenal are miles away from Wengerball at the moment, but sometimes we get a glimpse of the sort of football we used to play when life was so much easier: the first half against Reading, the last twenty minutes against Newcastle United, and periods during our away win against Liverpool at the start of the season, etc, come to mind.

Arsene fed us with the best champagne and caviar there is in the world of football at the start and middle of his era at the club, and it is hard for us all to see his current team struggle to get anywhere near those previous dishes of haute cuisine.

There are quite a few fellow Gooners who have started to question Arsene’s ability to build another great side, and whether his ideas might have gone a bit stale.

For me, there is no doubt that Arsene is the embodiment of modern, state of the art football in this country. Man City play now like Arsenal during the Cesc-era; Chelsea try to play like Arsenal, and so do Liverpool; only the Mancs continue with Fergie’s old fashioned ‘absorb and pounce’ footie, for which they cash-doped one of Arsene’s best ‘development products’ in the last few years, this season.

Arsene has got vision: tons of it.

He knows what sort of football he wants to play and once it comes off, it will be great again: football which sets the heart on fire, and will not be forgotten for a long time.

But losing Fabregas, Nasri, Song, Clichy and van Judas over the space of 12 months, and having to integrate an army of young and new players: Arteta, Mertesacker, Gibbs, Diaby, Cazorla, Wilshere (after a long injury), Giroud, the Ox, and Podolski into his first-11 team is of course going to take time.

This is major transition stuff: to get all these players to play together and reach the highest levels of Wengerball again will take a lot of effort: many training sessions, lots of communication, and also selling and buying of players to get the right mix of players in the squad again.

The competition in the PL is so much stronger now than it used to be prior to building the Emirates, and the pressure on the club, Wenger, and the players is additionally high due to not having won anything for seven years and counting.

Arsene recruits and develops good players into very good to great players.

Yes, he got it wrong on quite a few occasions in his career, but there is no doubt about his ability to spot, and then develop, a talent. Key in all of this is Arsene’s ability to translate his vision of how Arsenal ought to play football into practice; and once players understand his vision and are able to put it into practice on the pitch, they can become very good, and sometimes even great, players. It is of paramount importance to get the team to click like an autonomous, telepathic football machine once again, and guess what: it is not working very well at the moment.

As per the quote of Montaigne above, football players are diverse and different and it takes time to reach high levels of mutual, telepathic understanding; as in becoming solid and cohesive, and it utilising each others strength to the maximum, whilst compensating for each other weaknesses as much as possible.

To achieve this, lots and lots of hard work is required, and Arsene was forced to re-start the process twice during the last 16 months. Why he put up with having to go through another transition this season is beyond me, but I thank him for not having walked away from the club.

Arsene is not a fixer but a football totalitarian, although he has shown his ability to adapt during last season.

It is fair enough to express doubt in the quality of some of our players; and so is being critical about the work rate of some of them. But for me, our problems are mainly systemic: Arsene is struggling at the moment to get his team to work as a strong, cohesive unit who understand and execute his vision of football on the pitch. The team is not clicking currently, as is shown by the large number of misunderstandings between the players and wrong decision making on the pitch.

Arsene is not a fixer, who just concentrates on trying to win a game one way or another; he is a slow builder and that will never change.

We are in the middle of a major transition and more change is likely to come. Integrating Walcott into the centre of our strike-force will have its ups and downs in the next few months. Getting the balance right in midfield, possibly with the addition of a more defensive minded, quality midfielder will also take time. Establishing telepathic understanding between all the players is simply not established over night; it just isn’t.

Wenger has to do all of this whilst not missing out on CL football – not qualifying would be a big financial hit – which makes the whole process continuously stressful for both the manager and players involved.

It is now absolutely paramount that Wenger does not have to sell any of his key players anymore. If Kroenke and co can provide this security/consistency to him and us, we will eventually see a great Arsenal team again.

I urge everyone to be patient and keep looking at the bigger picture. We will get there again, but it won’t be easy: tight buttocks are required.

Written by: Total Arsenal.