Problems with Arsenal

Sundays loss at Old Trafford was an embarrassment. To lose against that injury stricken United side
when a win really would have propelled us forward into strong title favourites is not what a team full
of strong characters does. However, who would expect anything less from recent Arsenal sides
under Arsne Wenger? Looking back at our results this season its hard to list the games where
Arsenal played to expectations. First halves at home versus United and City, and away games at
Leicester and Olympiacos are four I would bother mentioning out of the thirty-nine games Arsenal
have played this season. The only reason we are third in the table is because of how pathetically
weak the top of the Premier League table is. Glance at the European teams at the top of their
respective league and how many of those would walk to the title in England. I know all three in Spain
would, Bayern and Dortmund would with ease, PSG and Juventus too.
Team selection and style of play
Now it has been professed for some time that Arsenal are a possession based attacking footballing
side, and while still true to an extent, I dont believe Arsenal play with a distinctive style anymore.
The dominant style of football across Europe is one of possession followed with a high press, but
also having the ability to counter with pace on the wings. Two of the best examples of this in Europe
are Bayern and PSG. Both averaging over 60% possession per game and having four things in
common.
1. Supreme passers in the centre of midfield in Alonso and Verratti/Motta all averaging around
80 passes per game and rarely giving the ball away. Without Cazorla and Wilshere, Arsenal
miss this greatly. In Coquelin and Ramsey, Arsenal give up controlling the centre of midfield
since neither are great technicians on the ball. Neither of these players are comfortable to
receive the ball deep from the centre backs, turn, and make that incisive pass to start the
attack. Weirdly I thought Arsene had signed Elneny to fix this problem and in his
appearances in the FA cup and his brief outing against United he looks very comfortable to
pick the ball up in any position to start the attack. Ozil also needs to be given the freedom to
drop back deeper to become more influential in the tougher games. People often criticize
him for looking like a passenger in the biggest games, but thats more a fault with the lack of
control in the centre of midfield.
2. Pace on the flanks. Whether its Robben, Coman, Costa, Lucas, Di Maria or Cavani theres an
abundance of pace and width for both of these teams. Arsenal dont lack in this
department, but have been unfortunate with Alexis dip in form and the mysterious
disappearance of Joel Campbell. I couldnt tell you why hes been left on the bench recently,
as his performances havent warranted a drop to the bench.
3. A clinical striker. The top teams in Europe have a striker who scores roughly a goal a game,
or in the case of Barcelona three of them. Olivier Giroud has scored 12 goals in 27
appearances this season for Arsenal in the Premier league. I found it strange when Giroud
was brought to this club. In the past Wenger has found most success when utilising a pacey
clinical number 9 who looks to get in behind the defenders, most notably Ian Wright and
Thierry Henry. After Henry left, Emmanuel Adebayor was brought in to fulfil this role and if
not for his attitude problems, would have likely ended up as an Arsenal legend. Girouds
strengths lie in his hold-up play and aerial dominance, not something you want or need in
your striker when you play the best number 10 in the world behind him. Nor does Giroud
have the natural instincts of a striker. When he receives the ball his first thought is to flick it
around the defender, or simply lay it back to the original passer. A striker should receive the

ball in or around the box whilst having one thought in his head which is where he will place
the ball to score the goal.
4. High team press without the ball. Its crucial that the whole team adopts the idea of
pressing high up the pitch for it to be effective.
Manager
When Arsenal have a fixture against one of the big boys in the league, one often wonders when the
team will finally turn up. Seldom has it happened over recent years that Arsenal have started the
quicker out of the two teams. Weve had different squads under this manager who consistently
struggle versus the bigger teams, therefore its logical to make the assumption that the problem lies
with the manager. You have to question the pregame strategy of Arsne Wenger and his ability to
prepare his players both mentally and physically. Ex Arsenal players regularly say of him that he
trusts his players to do their jobs without strict supervision. And this works when you have a team
with the ability of the Invincibles, but otherwise players need to be told what to do. It doesnt have
to be as strict as under Mourinho, where training sessions midweek before a game will focus on
exactly how to counter the team youre about to face, because clearly that has time-limit as shown
by the hilarious downfall of the Chelsea team this season.