What is the issue surrounding Arsenal?

Results

Date	Time	C	Opponent	F	A	R	S
25 Nov	7:45 PM	CL	Dynamo Kyiv (H)	1	0	Win

William Gallas, Bacary Sagna, Emmanuel Eboué, Kolo Touré, Emmanuel Adebayor, Eduardo, Francesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott and Tomas Rosicky. Those were the players missing at Manchester City.

That's 8 first team players who are all older that 23 apart from Fabregas and Walcott. Only 1 is a teenager. Without injuries, Arsenal are not that young and this whole thing about trying to win with kids is mainly an injury situation. Arsenal's full first team will have roughly the same average age as Manchester United and Liverpool. Admittedly, the second player in each position is much younger but personally, I don't have a problem with that. I am with Wenger on that one.

How many teams in the Premiership can win a game missing 8 first team players? Maybe Chelsea?

Of course you would be correct to say that a good squad should draw those games where many of their first team players are missing instead of losing them. I would agree with that and Wenger also needs to take note of that. That's when tactics are extremely important.

The young players have learned that they are not ready. If manager Arsène Wenger had bought an experienced defensive midfielder in the summer, maybe Denilson would have started looking for a new club. Now Denilson has had a chance and knows that he is not complete. Should Wenger buy one in the summer, Denilson or any other youngster should understand.

I have learned that Mikael Silvestre is not getting enough praise. He has made a real difference to the defence especially in organisation, offside traps and set-piece defending. He was money extremely well spent. With a solid midfield, we would not concede many goals.

I have learned that Johan Djourou has got a mean streak like Essien and may be interesting to see in midfield sometime. That Aaron Ramsey should play when Fabregas is absent because Ramsey, Jack Wilshere and Fabregas are the only Arsenal players that have the vision to find great passes like the one that fixed a goal for Bendtner against Dynamo Kyiv.

That Alex Song is a good player in spite of what people say. He is far from complete but he shows great signs of a good holding player and is extremely well-built for it. I would like to see him stay at the club and develop. He has the strength and power for that position and already knows how to use his body well. I'm afraid I see no reason to join the Song and Eboué haters club.

I have learned that Carlos Vela is worth every minute he plays on the pitch and needs more opportunity. He is not strong enough but he is really one player that will only get stronger on the pitch because he looks like he can learn as he goes along. His mobility is really something Arsenal have missed for years!

Lastly, Wenger has not become stupid overnight. Wenger has always only had one major problem and it is a tactical problem. I have learned that Arsenal have NO tactical answer to the compact style of Premiership opponents.

Arsenal can fake it when Adebayor is playing and we could get away with it 10 to 5 years ago because the quality and discipline the in Premiership was poorer and we could score early. But now players like Robinho can play for teams like Manchester City and international players play for Hull City.

It wasn't always like that. It is so bad now that Arsenal hardly even create chances during games. It used to be last season that we could not finish, now we cannot even create chances.

Modern football has very small margins. A pass from Fabregas in a small moment of distraction gave Arsenal 3 points against Kyiv. They lost 1 point and Arsenal gained 3 because an Arsenal player was injured and the referee gave a 50/50 bounce near the Arsenal penalty and Kyiv thought it was safe. 10 seconds later they lost the game.

That's the kind of margin of error we are dealing with these days. If you are not a defensive team, you better be scoring because any team can hold you or score against you. None of the top 3 teams won this weekend. It shows how compact opponents can be. But those top 3 teams were good enough to ensure that they get a point from those games.

Even when Arsenal are fully fit, we don't have the answer to the new disciplined compact style of the Premiership. Wenger must find this answer. It's not a squad issue – it is a tactical issue and it is very urgent.

User Comments

Stephen

Posted on 27 Nov, 2008 at 06:40 PM - Reply

I do seem to remember Bendtner scoring valuable goals i.e v Aston Villa, Kiev.... He scores these goals when given the chance and he's only young so obviously he's not the worlds best player but he has the potential to if he learns from Adebayor!

Gooner

Posted on 27 Nov, 2008 at 01:48 PM - Reply

Wenger must go hew is nolonger listening and improving the squad to compete with other teams and thus get trophies. He is enjoying himself. I would not blame any player.

All Arsenal leaders need to meet and discuss this crisis fans are disappointed and thinking otherwise

Kele from Zürich

Posted on 27 Nov, 2008 at 01:42 PM - Reply

I agree with you about the problem. It's a tactical problem. The Players are fantastic and each year the will grow. We have players who can score even when Van Persie is not in topform and Adebayor can't play. Bendtner, Vela, Fabregas, Diaby, Nasri...all this players can score. But how if we can not break throught the defense of the other team. I also agree that we can't creat many chances this season. For me it's the one touch football. We don't use it this season like last year. That was the key to create many and high quality chances. Even when we lost Flamini or Hleb we have now Nasri and a very good Denilson. For me it is the most important thing that we play the one touch like last season.

A_M_Walker

Posted on 27 Nov, 2008 at 01:30 PM - Reply

I do not share your thoughts, or that of the other gooners below me. This is a SQUAD game - the problem is mismanagement of our resources and lack of said resources.

....'Even when Arsenal are fully fit, we don't have the answer to the new disciplined compact style of the Premiership'....???

Nonsense! What is a compact style? Chelsea beating Hull 4-0? United beating stoke 5-0? Arsenal beating Blackburn 4-0?

Please digress... oh and the Silvestre brainwave, please divulge.

I do love your optimism, but you are far removed from the reality.

A

john quinn

Posted on 27 Nov, 2008 at 01:20 PM - Reply

on a lighter note it was nice to see Oleg Luzney on tuesday evening , he looks just the same ,he was a nice player ,and a nice person too

ABU HATEM ALSOURI

Posted on 27 Nov, 2008 at 09:53 AM - Reply

I agree with you with many things but I think there are 3 players bellow the Arsenal quality level (Bendtner,Song and Silvestre).
I think this year will be worse than the last 3 years for Arsenal and they will die to keep the 4th place in the league and could reach maximum the semi final in the champions league.

I do not agree with Winger that Chelsea is a money team because he is doing the same , Arsenal now buying cheap young players and train them well and when they are ready to give back what they learned they sell them wiyh a high price + do not buy new experinced players = No Trophy. Arsenal is the best money maker without thinking about the Gooners who might change their blood to another colour!!!

Good Luck to all Gooners

gooner

Posted on 27 Nov, 2008 at 04:37 AM - Reply

last season we can the survive the new disciplined compact style of the Premiership because we have hleb who can dribble in limited space.. amazing talent but cunt

George Balas

Posted on 27 Nov, 2008 at 04:06 AM - Reply

i am a arsenal fan through and through and even in this so called patchi part i have every confidence that we will get back to business and i must say that having put fab as captain is a very good decision not only to keep him at the club but it gives you that drive and as soon as we have our boys back on the field we will be a much better side as players will be fighting for their spot whitch we are not doing at the moment. i also think that wenger should have a bit more depth in the squad like one or two experienced player and then we will be more then capable in getting the results we need!

reef

Posted on 27 Nov, 2008 at 01:34 AM - Reply

totally agree, it's a matter of point of view really, but this make sense in all way. Tactics is our big problem, sometimes we can see the quality is there, even Arsene knows, but strangely it became useless againts teams like Hull, Stoke, Villa.. so, I hope Arsene will give his brain a bit more spin to out-tactic those thug teams..

Disillusioned Gooner

Posted on 26 Nov, 2008 at 09:01 PM - Reply

Good article. A great manager can get away with dodgy tactics for a season but to go on for 4 or 5 without addressing the issue is bloody questionable. Could it be we lack the players to deploy the right tactics? Could it be that Arsene is stuck in a time warp and is blinded by his ego? Yes we kept a clean sheet against Kyiv, and well done to the team for that, but i was still unimpressed by the play as we tend to hold the ball without gaining ground on the pitch, i mean we could pass the ball 10 times in our own half, presenting no threat to the opponent and gaining nothing but a possession percentage! wenger needs to do some serious soul searching.

seyiblack

Posted on 26 Nov, 2008 at 07:26 PM - Reply

very great article and very thorough but i would disagree with you on some issues, the fact that the middle isnt stong enough isnt a tactical issue its a squad issue what is denilson looking for there he only ends up making cesc look like someone who isnt competent enough and the new captain needs support. Its a mistake many people make thinking that diaby or denilson are good DMs, they are too attack minded and would only live the holding post empty just as denilson is doing right now. Any one who thinks diaby is a great DM should have a rethink he only looks like viera and CANNOT do that job. Asides from this Song is ok to me would eventually be a good CB and not good enough for a DM as he doesnt have pace and he needs a lot more mental strength. One quick thing Nik and Ebuoe do not deserve this squad Nik should be sold and Eboue a replacement for Sagna God heal the best arsenal players Rosicky and Eduardo keep the guns smoking

American Gooner

Posted on 26 Nov, 2008 at 06:17 PM - Reply

Name a major European Club that hasn't needed great second team players. Look at Man U, Real, Barca. When Barca got Henry did they need him? They had Eto, Messi, Ronaldinho and a young Bojan. Wenger needs to understand that there has to be a balance. At every position you need an older player, an in his prime player and a young emerging player. So keep Gilberto, start Denilson and train Mark Randall. Four years ago we had an old Bergkamp, an in his prime Henry and a young Van Persie. That is the model we need.

Tai Obasi

Posted on 26 Nov, 2008 at 05:23 PM - Reply

Great article. Arsene Wenger couldn't just become incompetent after 12 years. He's no God and hence could get it wrong at times. But the AW I know is one who will surely overcome. Patience and decisive action are both needed to subdue a crisis. Let's employ both.

Hopeful Gunner

Posted on 26 Nov, 2008 at 04:56 PM - Reply

Denilson played on the right against Kiev so let's not read too much into that. And I admit he had the worst game ever against Man City. But before that he wasn't doing very badly at all. It's funny how people are asking for a big tall defensive midfielder to replace... Mathieu Flamini??

Come on, give Denilson a chance to learn that Flamini role. He's been scapegoated when the whole of the team hasn't been playing well, even when he's been showing positive signs. Like Joel said, it's tactics more than anything else, and that is something Wenger should sort out.

To crack open compact style opponents Wenger need look no further than Barcelona's style. A proper 4-3-3 (not 4-5-1) with 3 forwards occupying 4 defenders, making themselves a handful, and midfielders supporting the attack (not afraid to shoot long either). I believe that Arsenal already have the right players to play that formation, and I'm surprised Wenger doesn't seem to see that.

The forwards should remain high up the pitch, and be patient instead of coming deep too often because they want to create. Let the 3 midfielders along with the full-backs, bring the ball up (that's 5 players), and eventually one of the opponent's back 4 will have to leave an Arsenal forward to close down an Arsenal midfielder or full-back, and when that happens, PING, through ball to unmarked forward.

AMR

Posted on 26 Nov, 2008 at 03:24 PM - Reply

first of all your article is great but i want to talk in some points,
1- Arsenal does not suffer from any tactical probs, that is because our own style = a football tactic
2- we suffer from having no leader in the feild, this leader is not by the armband but i can only say that he is a player that drives the team and respected by everyone even fans ( Henry- Bergcamp- Adams- .... Hleb in the last year squad)
3- we have a problem in our center backs we need someone who is completly defender, this may be solved by buying or changing the maintality of defenders that they must get every single ball not to watch attackers while they score.
4- i think if we are lucky and with one more exprinced player in january and with the return of some injured players we will have at least one trophy this year ( i suggest champions league )
5- we have to look for a great keeper.

Ryan Stocker

Posted on 26 Nov, 2008 at 01:02 PM - Reply

yeah I agree with pretty much everything.
But somehow it is also a squad issue. You can't have a substitute player who is 16 and expect him to be fully involved in the game and that he can compete with his opponent. like wilshere last night. Okay everybody was cheering when I came on and everytime he got the ball but seriously this is the champions league you can't play with those kinds of players. Agains Kiev @ home I'd expect a much higher result than a last minute 1:0....We need older and experienced players that's just a fact wenger doesn't wanna realize. Year after year he also says the same non-scence. Like this summer he said he'll for sure buy 1 player before the market closes and maybe 2. did he get 1?
He doesn't know himself what he really wants and what he really needs. Arsenal staff needs to wake up. The younger players will get their chances on day. or even in the league cup. that's a very good idea. but that's about it....

tom arsenal

Posted on 26 Nov, 2008 at 11:56 AM - Reply

agree with most of it, apart from the harshness on eboue and song, eboue is NOT a right midfielder, but is a very good right back and in my opinion no worse than sagna, possibly better because of his delivery, as sagnas is too hopeful and inconsistent. Song is showing good potential and i would have him as backup for now behind diaby for the centre midfielder no.2 role. good article.

gunnnnaaaa

Posted on 26 Nov, 2008 at 11:39 AM - Reply

i think this article has quite a number of facts. yeah wenger should sort outb the tactical issue and denison doesnt seem to be good/strog enough to be on the squad. at times wenger plays favorites the way it looks.hope all goes well guys

Browny

Posted on 26 Nov, 2008 at 10:54 AM - Reply

I agree that we are not all that bad. I think our EPL problems are down to one area. The lack of an established DM to take the load of from Fabregas and allow him to concentrate his efforts more higher up the pitch without having to look over his shoulder too often. Flamini provided Fabregas with this security and the lack of this one player this year I think has cost us 7-8 points already. In Europe a holding midfielder is useful but not as necessary as in the EPL which is why we have done well in a tricky group in Europe. I feel that you actually need certain specialised players in the EPL that other teams in other European leagues don't need as much. Last season we started with Flamini, Gilberto and Diarra, 3 top level defencive midfielders. All 3 gone in 12 months and no-one purchased. For me a top DM is a holding player who largely sits in a certain area of the pitch in front of the back 4. They should mostly think about protecting their back 4 with an occasional foray forwards. For me both Denilson and Diaby are too attack minded and their first thoughts are about going forwards. Song holds more naturally but I wonder if he lacks a bit of pace for the job. Being unable to cover 10 metres a yard quicker than someone else can be all it takes to miss cutting out an attack. I think Yaya Toure could be the answer. He is a big strong player but is fairly quick over the ground for one of his size. He can also play a bit and would compliment our team in both domestic and European ventures. It is not a crisis if you are only one player away from challenging but it is a serious oversight as a club not to ensure a club of our standing enters the season without that player even if it means paying £3m more than you would have wanted too. That £3m becomes meaningless against the cost of dropping the points we have.

slugboy

Posted on 26 Nov, 2008 at 10:05 AM - Reply

Agree with a lot of what you are saying.

Tactically, we are too conservative - we keep the ball, but make no ground. This would be fine if we had people in the team to take advantage of the many corners and free kicks that we win. Unfortunately we are poor at set pieces at both ends of the pitch.

Tactically, we either need to take some chances - risk giving the ball away in order to get past a player, or buy some big fellas, who can dominate in the air - if only we had bought santa cruz in the summer - we would be doing a lot better now in my opinion.

Personally, I think our strikers are weak - RVP just doesn't do it for me - the odd flash of brilliance is not enough in today's premiership - he needs to consistently start scoring. vela, at least is very direct, as is simpson - I thought they both brought a new dimension to arsenal against Wigan.

Suurey Gunner

Posted on 26 Nov, 2008 at 10:04 AM - Reply

I am not sure I can take this article after that last few weeks, its sane, intelligent and well written, and thoughtful. Lets have more.

Issues which we need to add into the mix is that the gap between the top and bottom are narrower than they have ever been, so people who talk about the big four are missing the point. A number of sides are very close to Champion Leagues qualification.

Our midfield need to start to beef up ie physical and mentally stronger. The closest comparison is Andrew Murray, think how his game has change over the last year.

charles ngugi

Posted on 26 Nov, 2008 at 09:51 AM - Reply

prof. Wenger MUST do this asap or its five years without a trophy. who needs that.

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