Mental Strength - What is it and does Arsenal have it?

[IBK]

So, Wenger's comments about the Southampton game today

They gave us a tough game last time and we have to put that right. I think the team has a good mentality, a good level of humility, and a good togetherness.
The message is that we play at home and we want to put things right and put a strong performance in because the strength we show at home now in the remaining games can be decisive.

got me thinking about what he means by 'a good mentality'.

It's easy to take the view that our inconsistency means that we don't have mental strength, but is this the full picture? Chelsea aside, our players have shown this season that they can get results against the top teams. We've beaten Citeh; Manure and Leicester so far. We have also achieved results when we were written off - such as beating Bayern, and progressing to the group stages of the CL against the odds. In terms of individual players, Bellerin; Coquelin; Campbell and to a lesser degree (because he was nearer the first team anyway) have shown commendable mental attitude in forcing their way into the first team to defy the views of the sceptics. Giroud reacted very well to being dropped for Walcott, and Ozil has kept at it to show what he is capable of. I don't think any of us can doubt the mental attitude of Cech and Sanchez.

We have a side that has now won 2 cups in recent seasons, and that seems better equipped to come back from reverses (the FA Cup final against Hull being a clear example).

Beyond that, pretty much every member of our squad comports themselves professionally on and off the pitch.

At the same time, however, noone can deny that we lack a real leader on the pitch - at least in terms of the Adams or Vieira effect. Plus our approach to certain games seems often to vary between the complacent when we seem to be out-desired by lesser teams, or lacking in self-belief as the recent game against the Chavs showed to full effect.

But are these 'aberrations' down to a lack of mentality, or because of under-preparation by the manager. Does Wenger's reference to a good mentality mean that we have a team full of nice guys who toe his line, rather than having some 'devil' in them to do what is needed when things are tough. When down to 10 men against Chelsea, I'm not sure that we showed a lack of bottle as a team - more that we didn't have what it took football wise to get a result.

So is Wenger right, or is this another sound bite that ignores the evidence on the pitch. Thoughts?

[Globalgunner]

We are a team that if we go a goal down in a game, hardly ever come back to win it. In fact conceding 1 goal more or less guarantees 3 or 4. If that is mentality, then we need a better Shrink

[Power n Glory]

It’s a good question especially when you look at individual players. Giroud has responded well to being dropped and came fighting for his place. Campbell has taken his opportunity. Coquelin as well. He's not having the best of seasons but I'm often surprised by Walcott's willingness to prove his critics wrong. I think of the Chris Waddle case. Cech has bounced back well after that horrible start. Monreal has earned his spot in the team. He's turned his critics into fans.

I don't think our short comings are down to a lack of desire from the players. This may seem all too easy, but it boils down to the manager and coaching again. When things aren't going right and it looks like we're going through the motions, I think the teams just trying to keep a cool head, remain calm, stay faithful to our game and the right result will come. It's Wenger mantra I've heard repeated in various ways. So whilst we're probing and trying to find to find a goal with our tippy tappy, it looks like we lack passion and leadership. But I think it's just the way we've been taught to handle pressure. Wenger demonstrates this often after a bad result. He'll stay faithful to the way we play and philosophy. He'll never tear up the rule book and do something drastic to shake things up.

[Letters]

I may have said a few times that I've seen a few signs of over over the last couple of years of an improved mentality, some of the results we've got in big games, the Cup wins. We do lack a leader on the pitch but some of the results we've got last year and this we wouldn't have got a few years back.

Recent results have made me worry a bit but we'll see what we're made of over the next few games and the title run in. We have a few players who have been there and done it at the business end of a season so I have some hope, I think the next 3 games are key.

[Özim]

This team just lacks something, call it mental strength, a winning mentality, hunger, call it what you will it just lacks it. There's no killer instinct, even when we're beating a side comfortably we don't put them to the sword and keep trying to get more.

There's just something missing, there's real satisfaction in seeing your team being better than anyone else and putting in great performances on a regular basis, when's the last time we did?

All we seem to churn out is scrappy wins and average performances where we pick up 3 points, invariably when you play like this you end up dropping points at key stages as you just don't have the hunger or belief. It's hard to believe in a team with so little apparent belief in itself on the pitch.

It's been literally a decade since we saw a team with confidence and real belief on the pitch.

[Özim]

Let's not kid ourselves about Wenger's words, he comes out with this stuff all the time and time and time again he's made to look a fool. Whenever we've been hammered in the past when the return match has come along we've usually lost of drawn, we never come out with anything to prove, there just isn't enough hunger to prove a point.

If you want to see what Wenger teams are made of you need only look at his 1000th match as an example, in a big game to celebrate his managerial career we get totally humiliated, that tells you all you need to know about Wenger and his teams mentality.

[Marc Overmars]

I think we have mental strength, we do tend to come back from the mire a lot.

I do sometimes feel though that we play it safe, a 1 or 2 goal lead is normally enough for us to shut up shop (regardless of what stage the game is at) when we might actually be better served by going for more goals. We're too inviting for the opposition, how often do you see us drop deep all in a desperate attempt to protect a lead even against inferior teams? Maybe we're a little bit restricted by fear? If City go a goal or 2 up, you know it's going to be a pasting. With us, it's pretty much an open invite to come at us because our work is seemingly done.

[Dein-machine]

We are simply a club happy to be mediocre. It runs from the directors, through Wenger & into the players. We have many fans happy with this as well, happy with pub wins agaisnt the likes of Newcastle, Sunderland, Villa & Burnley!!.
The only thing that can change this is a new manger who actually knows what is required to take us the the next level. We were promised European dominance when we left Highbury, we were not far off it then, Champions League final etc but our level of play & will to compete top level dropped soon after & Wenger has no idea as to what is required to get it back.

[IBK]

We are simply a club happy to be mediocre. It runs from the directors, through Wenger & into the players. We have many fans happy with this as well, happy with pub wins agaisnt the likes of Newcastle, Sunderland, Villa & Burnley!!.
The only thing that can change this is a new manger who actually knows what is required to take us the the next level. We were promised European dominance when we left Highbury, we were not far off it then, Champions League final etc but our level of play & will to compete top level dropped soon after & Wenger has no idea as to what is required to get it back.

Good replies all. I think I'm beginning to think that this team does have a good mental attitude, but that the apparent lapses are more to do with how the team is set up to play than anything else. I've said plenty of times - and this is from the comments of ex players - that Wenger's approach is to let his players express themselves in a light tactical approach. While for some players (and these tend to be the true wolrdies in our team) this is fine - I think most players need stronger tactical direction/instruction, and when they are being outplayed or out thought on the pitch they can look jittery and directionless. The catch 22 with our team is Wenger's apparent antipathy to having leaders in his team - and by leaders I mean players who will impose a way of playing on the pitch - means that this issue is not addressed by anyone else either. Frustrating - but I don't think we can blame the players.

The irony is that Wenger does seem capable of raising his team at times. We have seen in the last CL group game this season, for example that when it really matters to the manager (and I think he values his CL record more highly than anything else) he can get his team to the level/tempo that is so often needed. Ditto the Manure and Citeh games. Progress - I guess we'll see...

[IBK]

We are simply a club happy to be mediocre. It runs from the directors, through Wenger & into the players. We have many fans happy with this as well, happy with pub wins agaisnt the likes of Newcastle, Sunderland, Villa & Burnley!!.
The only thing that can change this is a new manger who actually knows what is required to take us the the next level. We were promised European dominance when we left Highbury, we were not far off it then, Champions League final etc but our level of play & will to compete top level dropped soon after & Wenger has no idea as to what is required to get it back.

Oh, and yes I do worry that at the top of our club there is no real ambition other than having a healthy balance sheet.