Why the Zagreb game tells us all we need to know about Wenger
I used to be on here lots - before the groundhog day that is Arsenal made me stop caring and do better things. There few things left to say about the state of our team and our manager, but it strikes me that 3 things don't tend to be mentioned about Wenger's approach - that tonight's game, and result epitomises.
1. Wenger is not getting the best out of the talent that he has. I'll deal with his players' attitude below, but even allowing for this, its clear that Wenger has little or no idea how to maximise his players' abilities. His tactical shortcomings have been debated endlessly, and its obvious that by not being able to direct matches tactically he is leaving his players short. What is rarely mentioned is the scandal that he simply does not know his best team. The line up tonight had all the hallmarks of an experiment rather than a team intended to ensure a win, and we have seen this time and time again. Let's remember that this is a manager who has bought no new outfield players - and who, since his panic buying at the start of the 2013/14 season has been sparing with new first team introductions to say the least. His significant new signings - Ozil and Alexis - have played more than enough for Wenger to know where their most effective positions are - as have his 'breakthrough' players. What is longevity as a manager supposed to bring but consistency and an intimate knowledge of how his team should work. I don't think the manager has any clear understanding of what blend brings out the best in his players. That he does not have a settled, go to, first 11 in these circumstances is little short of nonsensical. The result - its very difficult to look at a single player in this season's team bar maybe Bellerin who is playing anywhere near to his true potential.
2. Wenger does not understand what it means to control a game. I think that that the possession game that we have all, mostly, grown to despise is down to a misguided belief that this is what controlling a game is. It isn't. The team that sits back and lets us blow ourselves out. That is content to have men behind the ball and wait for us to misplace the final pass. That is ready to counter attack and punish Arsenal when we desperately seek a breakthrough. That team controls the game, and even inferior teams often do so for much of the game - notwithstanding that they might lose to the odd individual or collective moment of brilliance from us. Let's be honest - when is the last time we 'owned' a game. Liverpool at home last season? The FA Cup final against a hopelessly naive Villa? Wenger's apparent misunderstanding that teams that control games do so via shifts in gear; controlling tempo; preventing the opposition from playing their own game combined with a seeming obsession with possession football seems bewilderingly naive.
3. It is self evident that neither manager nor players have any real hunger. His pre-match emphasis on that fact that we qualified last year having lost our first CL game almost made me weep. His bringing in of second choice players in a number of positions backed up this complete absence of any real focus. That we lost to a European minnow; that AOC was at fault for the first goal by not tracking back; that we fell into disarray and never looked like winning after the first 15 minutes is the inevitable result of an attitude that regards merely qualifying from the group; merely finishing top 4 in the league as a job done.
To say that our team is misguided; misfiring and uninspiring is an understatement.
