Where has Wenger gone wrong?

[Letters]

The game has certainly moved on without him but recently I actually think he’s developed new weaknesses.

He was never that bad a coach, he always managed to deliver a high standard of football even when the squad was perceived to be a lot weaker than it is now. Getting his team to be the sum of their parts was always something you could rely on but now the team is so dysfunctional, he’s really lost his grasp on them. He’s developed a blind spot for how his teams have always played and now we’re left with this broken mess we see today. He could elevate the game of any player but individuals are actually becoming worse under his guidance now.

A few times over the last decade I've thought he's "lost the dressing room", but every other time we've pulled it together and gone on one of our runs, latterly we've even managed to win some trophies, so it seemed he'd never completely lost them.
Now though, it really does seem that the players have lost faith in him and maybe each other. It's quite the mess. BUT, I do believe we have a good squad and I don't think a new manager would find it that hard to get this lot in the top 4 and challenging anyone (well, apart from this season's City who are doing pretty crazy, unprecedented things)

[Marc Overmars]

A few times over the last decade I've thought he's "lost the dressing room", but every other time we've pulled it together and gone on one of our runs, latterly we've even managed to win some trophies, so it seemed he'd never completely lost them.
Now though, it really does seem that the players have lost faith in him and maybe each other. It's quite the mess. BUT, I do believe we have a good squad and I don't think a new manager would find it that hard to get this lot in the top 4 and challenging anyone (well, apart from this season's City who are doing pretty crazy, unprecedented things)

Wenger's teams always had an identity but not anymore. Which I think is a relatively new weakness that's only manifested itself over the past few seasons only, he doesn't really know how to implement the style of play he wants anymore. For a coach to lose his identity, I believe that's the death knell.

[selassie]

Wenger's teams always had an identity but not anymore. Which I think is a relatively new weakness that's only manifested itself over the past few seasons only, he doesn't really know how to implement the style of play he wants anymore. For a coach to lose his identity, I believe that's the death knell.

Aye, HCZ brought this up the other week too regarding Wenger's current team having a lack of identity and I totally agree with the both of you.

These days it's just a collection of players and IMO Wenger is literally just hoping for the best. There is no defined style, no defined roles, just nothing but 10 outfield players and a keeper who has seen better days.

Wenger's recruitment has become increasingly sketchy too..I'm not against buying the likes of Auba and Mkhi per se, but we are going to get what a maximum of 3 high level seasons out of either of them if we are lucky as they are both what 29?

Why aren't we in the market for young/talented players? City were able to buy the likes of Sane, Bernardo Silva, Gabriel Jesus & De Bruyne for fairly reasonable prices...like 40-60million bracket, why aren't we in the market for players of this kind of profile?

[IBK]

Aye, HCZ brought this up the other week too regarding Wenger's current team having a lack of identity and I totally agree with the both of you.

These days it's just a collection of players and IMO Wenger is literally just hoping for the best. There is no defined style, no defined roles, just nothing but 10 outfield players and a keeper who has seen better days.

Wenger's recruitment has become increasingly sketchy too..I'm not against buying the likes of Auba and Mkhi per se, but we are going to get what a maximum of 3 high level seasons out of either of them if we are lucky as they are both what 29?

Why aren't we in the market for young/talented players? City were able to buy the likes of Sane, Bernardo Silva, Gabriel Jesus & De Bruyne for fairly reasonable prices...like 40-60million bracket, why aren't we in the market for players of this kind of profile?

Its consistent with the idea of AW no longer having any clear understanding of what his team needs. if we are honest, his apparent change of attitude over recent years when it comes to spending has the distinct feeling of desperation - a last roll of the dice - than any proper plan. He looks like a manager doing what a fan would try to do - bringing in players who look good as individuals without any thought being given to how they actually fit in to an effective team. Our latest acquisitions are a case in point. Any team needs first to have solidity - and the priority should have been to bring in top quality defensive/GK/defensive MF cover to stop the rot, not the kind of attacking players who seem more like vanity signings than ones that stabilise the team. Bif and even Walcott would IMO have done as much in a stabilised team than Mikataryan and Aubameyang...

[Goonermerree]

Its consistent with the idea of AW no longer having any clear understanding of what his team needs. if we are honest, his apparent change of attitude over recent years when it comes to spending has the distinct feeling of desperation - a last roll of the dice - than any proper plan. He looks like a manager doing what a fan would try to do - bringing in players who look good as individuals without any thought being given to how they actually fit in to an effective team. Our latest acquisitions are a case in point. Any team needs first to have solidity - and the priority should have been to bring in top quality defensive/GK/defensive MF cover to stop the rot, not the kind of attacking players who seem more like vanity signings than ones that stabilise the team. Bif and even Walcott would IMO have done as much in a stabilised team than Mikataryan and Aubameyang...

I agree with that. At lest they scored the odd goal. We have similar players to the two who were brought in. We have a glut of midfielders not of them are much good,as you say, that is one of the positions that needed to be addressed.

[Niall_Quinn]

I agree with that. At lest they scored the odd goal. We have similar players to the two who were brought in. We have a glut of midfielders not of them are much good,as you say, that is one of the positions that needed to be addressed.

They scored ALL our recent goals tbf, along with Alexis. Wenger sold off all our goals in the January window. His plan to replace them was to bring in an expensive striker and then isolate him at the top of a tippy tap, sideways, backwards, no pace, no energy ballet of triangles. Wenger has developed Total Non-Football.

[Goonermerree]

They scored ALL our recent goals tbf, along with Alexis. Wenger sold off all our goals in the January window. His plan to replace them was to bring in an expensive striker and then isolate him at the top of a tippy tap, sideways, backwards, no pace, no energy ballet of triangles. Wenger has developed Total Non-Football.

Pretty sure Monreal contributed one or two.