Here's a thread to look at the big picture of why we're no longer a club competing for the title. The past decade has been a repetitive disappointment where our expectations as fans have not been met. So what went wrong?
The answer I expect most is that we haven't moved on from Wenger. A change of management is a sure way of freshening up a club for better or for worse, and the club has decided over and over to stick with the safe option, Arsène Wenger. Some of us think his tactics are outdated or straight up non-existent and that's not simple to prove, but I find the case of Szczesny sheds some light on the subject. Woj just came out and said that he doesn't feel he developed technically at the club since he was made #1, and noted that the club never prepared for matches with video analysis, only with physical preparation. We've always known that Wenger is one who likes for players to express themselves and not be constrained by loads of instructions, but the lack of tactical prep tailored to each club concerns me. Relying on talent and self-expression is just asking for inconsistent performances and feels naive and even somewhat arrogant. It isn't surprising that players like Xhaka end up struggling after having played integral roles in the far more structured systems of managers like Favre. Also, some of our most impressive performances have come when players were disciplined (see game vs Chelsea this season), so why haven't we continued to play that way? Performances aside, Wenger has underachieved for the past decade and should consider himself fortunate to not have been moved on in an age where most managers aren't even awarded a season to prove themselves (not that I think that is correct either). I generally think he needs to be moved on for someone like Jardim, Silva, or Sarri. We're about to enter a new era of rebuilding, and we should do so with fresh ideas. We tried sticking with Wenger, and that hasn't paid off.
Another issue has been higher up the board, with our c*nt of an owner Stan Kroenke. Wenger wouldn't even be an issue if Kroenke had the ambition to take this club up a level, as he would have been moved on last season as we all knew was best. We suffer from a lack of outside funding as well that City and Chelsea, the current best English teams, get heaps of. Generally we neither gain nor lose from having him, which has resulted in what is exactly our issue: stagnation. We need a more competent and invested owner at this club so that the proper decisions are made, with what is best for the club in mind. If this issue were solved, I reckon everything else would turn for the better.
Looking more specifically, our transfer policy has probably been the most infuriating problem of all. The club was starting to piece together a proper side after bringing in Özil and then Sanchez, and then absolutely f*cking bottled it in the following three summer transfer windows. First, we got that transfer window where we brought in only Petr Cech. This, I am adamant, cost us the league. We cried out for a midfielder, everyone and their mother did, yet the club stuck to their guns and we wound up having Flamini, Arteta, and Chambers play far too many games in midfield. That absolutely * decision slowed us down in our tracks just as we were building up steam. Next window, we failed to properly build yet again, as we brought in an unwanted Perez, inconsistent Mustafi, and Xhaka, who Wenger seemed (and still seems) to have no idea how to properly use. We spurned yet another chance to build on Alexis and Özil and fell out of the CL spots. Özil and Alexis have since not signed extensions, and no replacements were brought in in preparation for their departures. Absolute shambles.
Other problems have been the club's inability to move players on, injury crises, our failure to beat big teams, the lack of player progression, lack of "steel", etc, but I won't ramble on because this is meant to be a discussion. Anyways, what are your thoughts? What went wrong, and what needs to change?
The answer I expect most is that we haven't moved on from Wenger. A change of management is a sure way of freshening up a club for better or for worse, and the club has decided over and over to stick with the safe option, Arsène Wenger. Some of us think his tactics are outdated or straight up non-existent and that's not simple to prove, but I find the case of Szczesny sheds some light on the subject. Woj just came out and said that he doesn't feel he developed technically at the club since he was made #1, and noted that the club never prepared for matches with video analysis, only with physical preparation. We've always known that Wenger is one who likes for players to express themselves and not be constrained by loads of instructions, but the lack of tactical prep tailored to each club concerns me. Relying on talent and self-expression is just asking for inconsistent performances and feels naive and even somewhat arrogant. It isn't surprising that players like Xhaka end up struggling after having played integral roles in the far more structured systems of managers like Favre. Also, some of our most impressive performances have come when players were disciplined (see game vs Chelsea this season), so why haven't we continued to play that way? Performances aside, Wenger has underachieved for the past decade and should consider himself fortunate to not have been moved on in an age where most managers aren't even awarded a season to prove themselves (not that I think that is correct either). I generally think he needs to be moved on for someone like Jardim, Silva, or Sarri. We're about to enter a new era of rebuilding, and we should do so with fresh ideas. We tried sticking with Wenger, and that hasn't paid off.
Another issue has been higher up the board, with our c*nt of an owner Stan Kroenke. Wenger wouldn't even be an issue if Kroenke had the ambition to take this club up a level, as he would have been moved on last season as we all knew was best. We suffer from a lack of outside funding as well that City and Chelsea, the current best English teams, get heaps of. Generally we neither gain nor lose from having him, which has resulted in what is exactly our issue: stagnation. We need a more competent and invested owner at this club so that the proper decisions are made, with what is best for the club in mind. If this issue were solved, I reckon everything else would turn for the better.
Looking more specifically, our transfer policy has probably been the most infuriating problem of all. The club was starting to piece together a proper side after bringing in Özil and then Sanchez, and then absolutely f*cking bottled it in the following three summer transfer windows. First, we got that transfer window where we brought in only Petr Cech. This, I am adamant, cost us the league. We cried out for a midfielder, everyone and their mother did, yet the club stuck to their guns and we wound up having Flamini, Arteta, and Chambers play far too many games in midfield. That absolutely * decision slowed us down in our tracks just as we were building up steam. Next window, we failed to properly build yet again, as we brought in an unwanted Perez, inconsistent Mustafi, and Xhaka, who Wenger seemed (and still seems) to have no idea how to properly use. We spurned yet another chance to build on Alexis and Özil and fell out of the CL spots. Özil and Alexis have since not signed extensions, and no replacements were brought in in preparation for their departures. Absolute shambles.
Other problems have been the club's inability to move players on, injury crises, our failure to beat big teams, the lack of player progression, lack of "steel", etc, but I won't ramble on because this is meant to be a discussion. Anyways, what are your thoughts? What went wrong, and what needs to change?
